This year we added a mammoth new flower bed to our yard. At 12′ x 18′, I truly had no idea what I was getting into. Since we were just starting this bed, and it was late in the year to do much of anything, we planted wild flowers from a mix. My thought was to fill the bed with easy annuals to allow for better planning next year.
Recently I found myself face-to-face with this bed while getting some sun, and I-touch missing, my mind was left to find its own amusement. What was discovered, and only later realized, stemmed even more affinity for the charm we find in our lives.
Staring layers deep into this flower jungle, I remembered our first summer in our home. This house has more space around it than either of us was accustomed to. There was a lot more nature surrounding us – as if we were in their territory – we were part of something, and not completely in control. My husband, Dave, decided to take an approach I hadn’t thought of or planned for.
I’ll probably remember his first act of ‘belonging’ all my days. We were relaxing beside a small pond and noticed a bee struggling in the water. It hadn’t died yet, but it surely would, and soon. To my complete awe, Dave dipped his hand under the water and scooped out water and bee, letting the water drain. This drenched, gasping, desperate bee rested in his hand. As they sometimes do, the abdomen (with stinger) convulsed as the bee tried to regain itself. Those moments changed our understanding of how we would interact with the life around our home. In Dave’s hand, the bee found safe harbor until he felt well enough to fly away.
Since then, our family has developed a growing sense of belonging. And I mean belonging – with the centipedes, deer, foxes, bees, butterflies and dragonflies. With that has come a growing sense of calm, tranquility.
Beleiving that the bees are just trying to live their lives they are really not too concerned with harming us, we regularly share space with them. One afternoon the kids were kicking the ball around the back yard. Between the kids and I was a huge bumble bee zooming back and forth. As the ball was kicked across the yard, the bee moved in tandem. When it was kicked back again, the bee repositioned. The bee would go about its business, then come back to check on the game. I giggled aloud when I realized the bee was watching the game. It was quite amusing.
We feel lucky and charmed to be a part of nature, such as we are. We are grateful our kids get to grow up with respect for stinging insects, but not fear. They have a healthy sense of co-existance and lack the sense of conflict. And we’re a little proud for not owning a can of bug spray.
Next year, we’ll be adding more flower beds with flowers that bloom in the summer. We’ll also be adding a few more bird baths, though they will be more for the bees than the birds.
