Bees bees bees and a vulture

Last month or so, I put up there mini hummer feeders for the bees so they have their own sugar water. The feeders seem to keep them from bothering the bigger feeders for the hummer. Today the bees SWARMED the little feeders.

I love to sit outside and maybe read or just relax. This afternoon, I carried a pile of newspapers and magazines outside, then plopped down in a chair on the rock patio. T'wasn't long before a bee showed up. Then another. And another. Now, see, I don't mind bees, and they don't scare me either. Much. But after awhile, those bees got to be a nuisance, landing on my arms and legs. Honestly, I also didn't want to take a chance on irritating one of them. So I gathered up my reading material and moved to another chair on the other side of the yard. 

Well, you guessed it. The bees showed up. More than just one or two. Dang. So I gave up and went back into the house. 

T'wasn't long before a TURKEY VULTURE showed up on the other side of our back fence and landed in the grass. I grabbed a compact camera and went outside for some shots. At the sight of me, the vulture flew up and into a nearby oak. While I was lurking behind the peppervine, getting plenty of whiffs of the dead thing in the grass (probably a squirrel), and hoping to get a good angle, something nipped at my left ankle. Normally, I can ignore a mosquito biting me if the occasion calls for it. But this bite hurt a tad. I glanced down, and DANG IF IT WASN'T A BEE! I said a bad word (or two) and swatted at my ankle. I think it stung me. I gave up on getting a vulture shot and went back into the house, very disgruntled. 

I did, as you can see, get a few shots before throwing in the towel. Then less than an hour later, the bees SWARMED our three mini hummer feeders. The show didn't last real long. But I figured I should get a video of the event. Very interesting!

Oh! Did the vulture get the dead thing? I assume so. James saw it fly away later. And my sting? Hey, thanks for asking! The bee or whatever it was didn't get a very good jab at me because my bite hasn't hurt much. Yet. Here's hoping for the best!

Vulture taking off.

Vulture wishing it could ditch me and get the dead thing.

More on bird baths

We love bird baths. To an extreme, I'd say. In the back yard, I think we've gotten up to 20 now. Of all sizes and shapes. While at the Little Nature Store in Boerne last week, a solar contraption caught my eye--a Floating Lily Solar Fountain. I offered to buy it for James' birthday (which was yesterday), but he said no, thanks, he'd much rather have something called a D-R Trimmer? Not to worry. I bought the fountain any way! It's pretty cool. The solar panels power the water pump ONLY when the sun's out. We'll see how long it lasts.

A few months ago, we bought this mosaic bird bath from a nice lady in Austin (a CraigsList find). We had it sitting for the longest time on our back patio. Finally, a few days ago, we set it in a garden, and it looks BEAUTIFUL there. We've enjoyed watching a male cardinal that drinks from it.

P.S. Here's a cute $10 bird bath that we bought at the same Boerne store last week, too. It's made of resin and probably won't last for real long. But we filled the base with sand so at least it's more sturdy.

Mystery cocoon

Last week, James spotted this odd, LARGE cocoon hanging from a live oak branch in the front yard. After shooting pictures of the roosting bees the other night, I finally got a better look at the cocoon. I have NO clue what it might be. The mystery insect definitely used existing leaves to make the cocoon. So interesting!

Since we're clueless, we decided to carefully cut the cocoon from the branch and place it in a critter box for further observation. We set the container on a cabinet in the garage near a window. "We can't forget about it!" I told James. "I'll need to let it go as soon as whatever it is comes OUT."

To help jog my memory (and his) about our temporary guest in the garage, I scribbled a note and taped it to our kitchen door. Stay tuned!

Texas star hibiscus blooms, after!

WOWZER! Our first bloom opened today! Spectacular!

When bees go to bed

Yesterday evening, I was pruning salvias when I spied this unusual grouping of bees on a dead branch. Get the camera! I'm pretty sure they're California anthophora because I've found the same species roosting in our Wildscape before. At any rate, the four had artistically arranged themselves until I startled one, and he flew off to roost alone (below).

They may be Melissodes bees, thanks to a friendly Facebook user. Waiting to hear back from Bugguide.net experts....
UPDATE AUGUST 30, 2014: Yes, they are Mellisodes!

The three were fine until the fourth returned, and he upset the top two bees. 

The fourth flew off again. Everyone was fine until the pair (above) started batting at one another with their legs. I laughed out loud! For the entire time of my watching, the bee on the bottom didn't let anything bother him.

The third took off but came back. Then he took off again.

Which left two bees. For a while, that is...

When I finally broke away to go back inside the house, the three remaining bees looked as if they might roost peacefully together for the rest of the night. But, alas, I'll never know for sure how this bedtime story starring bees ended. 

Who you lookin' at, girlfriend?

One of our friendly fox squirrels....

Texas star hibiscus blooms, before...