One of those special times - a balmy summer evening when the sunlight is bright and low in the sky and thus providing light at an interesting angle. It was illuminating a profusion of oregano flowers growing by the verandah, making a bright halo around them.
The vision was not just attractive to me. Several honeybees were busily feeding. One of the bees caught my eye. It seemed rather tiny and very determined.
The backlighting made its abdomen appear to glow.
It fed, buzzed, landed, fed - appearing very focused...the epitome of the busy bee, reaching ever more of the flowers.
Oops, acrobatics were required when one of its feet appeared to get hooked in the plant.
But it was only seconds before its balance and feeding resumed.
I was happy drinking in the pleasure of watching this little bee, and it was in turn drinking what I hope was good nourishing nectar. Bees are so precious now - we keep identifying more hazards, arising from our impact on the environment, the way bees are used and exposed to pests, the use of poisons on the plants they visit. At least I do know that the herb plant had not been sprayed and there were no neonicotinoids used in that area.
This is a plea to all who read this - do take care of the environment so that bees can recover and flourish.