A SENSE OF WONDER IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

The more we know of other forms of life,
the more we enjoy and respect ourselves. Humanity
is exalted not because we are so far above other
living creatures, but because knowing them well
elevates the very concept of life."
-- Edward O. Wilson

It's hard to remember life before loving bees. I don't know what it must be like to look at a bee and not see what I see and not feel all that I feel. The way the sun glistens off their intricately designed transparent wings, and to know those wings carry them up to four or five miles on each nectar run is a marvel. On each trip a bee will visit fifty to a hundred flowers. It's estimated that it takes 10 million foraging trips to make the equivalent of a one pound jar of honey. (source)

Bees are the only insect on earth producing food that humans eat. Honey is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water; and it's the only food that contains "pinocembrin", anantioxidant associated with improved brain functioning. (source)

Photography by Betsy Seeton

"Bees and flowers are as vital a part of the intricate web of life as we ourselves are. The question we must then ask is: Do we love life enough to save it? If we do, we need to transform the way we use the earth's finite endowment of land, water, air and wildlife."

                                               ~ Dr. Stephen Buchman, Letters From The Hive

Letters From The Hive is one of my favorite books. In it, Dr. Buchmann offers as a solution something very similar to what I've been preaching, and the concept of which is very much ingrained in the essence of this website. It's the idea of "getting back to a state of wonder and amazement we all experienced as children when first discovering plants and animals."  On my Home page for this website I quote one of my other favorite authors, Rachel Carson, from her book called The Sense of Wonder, which goes to the heart of what we should all hope for:

      “If I had influence with the good fairy, who is supposed to preside over the christening of all              children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantment of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things artificial, and the alienation from the sources of our strength.”   -- Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

Above is the hind leg where the "pollen basket" catches the pollen with the help of hair.

I try to capture with a lens the wonder in my heart. From a distance, we miss so much incredible detail in the world. Macro photography is a tool I use to magnify the world around me. Some might look at images I post and ask, "So what?" And the only wonder they have is wondering why I photo blog about bees. My answer is simple. "It's interesting to me." And that is always enough to keep my attention and keep me coming back for more.

A very typical pose of a bee fanning their wings.

A hind leg and foot showing the claw like feature.

I take note of tiny details like what is the same and what is different about these awesome little creatures. Some bees are more orange and others more beige. Some have longer abdomens. Some are quite golden. A common thread throughout is how commune-ish they are and how devoted they are to their colony. They don't fight with one another. They work together in such an incredibly cohesive, harmonious way. I think I would make a miserable honey bee because I'm not a joiner and not a big group kind of being.  If I were a bee I would be a solitary bee.               

 "Solitary bees live on their own, not in colonies with a 
queen and workers like honey bees and bumble bees. 
It could be said that each solitary bee is her own queen. 

But I find the hive mentality of honey bees utterly fascinating. The peacefulness of thousands of life forms working toward a common goal leaves me gobsmacked. 

Trying to show the 'feet' and the legs.

Showing the leg joints and 'feet'

The next time you're outdoors, stop to look more closely at the world around you. Try to see something new in something you've seen a thousand times. Or just listen and hear what you've not heard in something you hear all the time. Our life is made up of our perceptions. Change your perception and you'll feel your life change. Then again, who I am I to suggest you change? Maybe all is good just the way it is. 

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ ABOUT THE ORGAN-PIPE MUD DAUBER