Monday, January 18, 2010

Save the Honey Bee

Bees and I don't get along. My husband tells me to stand there and let it do it's thing and that it's not interested in me. That is when I usually take off running. My fear stems from summer camp when I was a kid. I went blueberry picking and the boy next to me stepped on a bee hive. As all the others were yelling BEES!!! and running down the path to safety, there I stood, content in picking my berries...and covered in bees from head to toe. When I caught up to the others, the camp counselor was nice enough to pick up a very long stick off the ground and brush them off. {Yes, I was stung. Many times. All over.}

However, with that being said, the little buggers are in danger and I feel like I should throw up the white flag and surrender to my fear. Read more about the crisis below, but first enjoy this pretty picture of wildflowers.

There is a crisis underway, but few people know about it. An estimated 40-60% of honey bees in the United States died or were severely weakened in 2005. California has the largest beekeeping industry and lost 50% of their honeybees in 2005. Our most important crops: fruits, nuts, seeds, and many vegetables are the mainstay of our economy and provide the basics of a healthy human diet. Looking at it from another perspective: about a third of human food requires pollination and plants simply cannot grow without it.

Do a small part and purchase honey bee wildflower seed mix here.

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