Varmints and Other Creatures

There’s something eating the okra plants, snapping it off at ground level, at the rate of about one a day. If it’s only jackrabbits, there’s an easy fix — make sure to fasten the gate shut every evening. If it’s ground squirrels, I’ll be reminded that it would have been worth it to line that bed with mesh. The okra is pretty: red stems, red buds, bright green leaves. At this rate we’ll be lucky to get a few pods before they disappear into the compost pile, wilted and miserable.

The bees continue to expand their premises in the hive on the nectarine tree. The edifice is ribbed and flowing, like the walls of a limestone cave. I wish I knew more about how they can put such a thing together… It’s certainly difficult to draw because the hive itself is white but the whole thing is brown, no contrast, pulsating with insects. They are feeding on the few flowers left on the alfalfa at the edges of the field, the plants that escaped mowing. My California fuchsia is starting to bloom bright red but I think that’s more interesting to hummingbirds than bees.