"Busy Bees" and a Lesson in Patience

I am not exactly a "morning person" but I am absolutely a "breakfast person." Like Jerry Seinfeld, I could eat cereal for every meal, but usually I will expend slightly more effort to really kick off the morning flavorfully. (My current favorite is oatnut toast topped with chocolate hazelnut spread and fresh summer berries. Seriously, you must try this magical trio. I know it's not the healthiest, but it's in the running for Most Scrumptious!) This morning, however, while the scent of bread turning into toast wafted through the kitchen, I raised the window shade to see our gorgeously abundant Rose of Sharon hedge literally abuzz. The honeybees were out in full force, flitting in and out of the super-saturated pink blossoms. I hesitated--the toast smelled amazing and the fresh strawberries were calling my name--but I knew what I had to do. I headed out the door with my camera and my trusty, super-cheap macro lens, my favorite new toy.

The honeybees didn't seem to care that my breakfast was waiting for me inside. Clearly, they had their own agendas and they weren't going to grant me the favor of posing in the perfect posy so I could answer the call of my grumbling stomach. I set up shot after shot and waited for a bee to fly into the particular blossom I was focusing on.

No such luck. Either they chose blooms that were out of my frame, or they chose the least photogenic flowers that were dying on the vine. Sometimes, they'd meet me halfway and give me a rear view, possibly the equivalent of "mooning."

I have to admit: Those shots interested me, too. I hadn't realized, until I was three inches away from honeybees this morning, that their little ruffled backs tremble in excitement while they drink the pollen. I guess they really enjoy their breakfasts, too.

When I first headed outside, I had intended to snap a few photos of the bees for ten minutes, tops. Again, the bees had an altogether different agenda for me. An hour flew by, and 92 photos later, this little guy (or gal) appeared:

He stopped what he was doing, wiggling his antenna in my direction, as we seemed to study the "otherness" of each other. He posed quite patiently for six frames before buzzing off. (Thank you, kind sir!)

When I finally made it back inside to my (slightly stale) toast, I had a memory of many years ago as a child, watching a TV special with Jane Goodall and the wild chimpanzees. After years of research and preparation, she traveled to their jungle, nestled herself among the trees, and waited. And waited. And waited some more, until one fine day, the chimpanzees finally acknowledged her, cautiously crept close to her, and allowed her into their intensely private world. I am no Jane Goodall, but today, I received the reward of patiently putting myself on other creatures' agendas and learning what would happen. The busy bees taught me all about slowing down, and made me ask myself, "What's the rush?" As it turned out, breakfast could wait. There were other things to savor.

Your turn: Are you habitually a "busy bee" or do you regularly take time to smell the roses? What's the most recent thing in nature/wildlife that you've studied? Please share in the Comments section below (feel free to link to your photos or blogs). If you are reading this post via email subscription or mobile device, click on the title or go to www.JoyfullyGreen.com from a computer to see the comments and leave one of your own.

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Reader's Note: I encourage you to read "What's Killing the Bees?" (from Treehugger.com via Time magazine) and "Keep Off The Grass: Experts Sound Off on the Dangers of Lawn Pesticides" (from me); both posts are linked below.