They're Back

Thank goodness! We were getting concerned. Our dwarf apple tree that produced 45lb (20kg) of apples last year had been covered in blossoms for at least two weeks, but we hadn't seen any bees. (I'll skip the birds and the bees lecture). We were hoping it was because the weather had been unseasonably cold, but we couldn't help wondering whether our annual visitors had succumbed to colony collapse disorder.

Today was sunny and much warmer. The bees were out in force, and trying to make up for lost time. After spending almost an hour trying to photograph them at work, I had 80 photos, of which only half a dozen were keepers. They move from flower to flower so quickly, there's not much time to compose and shoot. I have a new appreciation of the phrase "busy as a bee".