Archive for the ‘Birds Foot Trefoil pollination video’ Category

Bees are Buzzing, Garden is Growing, Deer are ‘Devouring’

Posted in Bee Video, Bee-loving flowers, Birds Foot Trefoil, Birds Foot Trefoil pollination video, Bumblebees, Butterflies, Hugelkulture, Log hives, Macro bee video, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Tower of Jewels, Videos, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 9, 2015| 14 Comments »

The new Echium Bee Bed is filling in well. From the lobelia in the front to the tallest Tower of Jewels echium plant, they all attract bees.

The new Echium Bee Bed is filling in well. From the colorful lobelia in front to the tallest Tower of Jewels echium plant, they all attract bees.

July 3...Hugelkulture bed is looking so much better since we weeded, planted, and mulched with compost and wood chips.

July 3…The Hugelkulture bed is looking so much better since we weeded, planted, and mulched with compost and wood chips.

A view from our garden bench in July reveals the garden in full glory.

A view from our garden bench in July reveals the garden in full glory.

July 3...The dwarf sunflowers are open and attracting bees already. It's older siblings can only watch with envy.

July 3…The dwarf sunflowers are open and attracting bees already. It’s older siblings can only watch with envy.

This deer seems to be asking me the question...

This deer seems to be asking me the question…”What are you doing out here at this time in the evening, this is MY time?”  In the video you’ll see why she looked up…she picked up the sound of the camera’s zoom lens.  Their hearing is phenomenal, but luckily their eyesight isn’t that good.  I’m standing in the sunlight just a short distance away, but she can’t see me very well.

Arrrgh! Deer damage!

Arrrgh! Deer damage!

I'm not sure if there's any reason to net what's left of these potatoes. They have been stripped of their leaves by the 'cute' deer. :(

I’m not sure if there’s any reason to net what’s left of these potatoes. They have been stripped of their leaves by the ‘cute’ deer. 😦

I mulched this corn in the morning...by the afternoon, the deer had already sampled it. A temporary fence is now in place to protect it...I hope it recovers.

I mulched this corn in the morning…by the afternoon, the deer had already sampled it. A temporary fence is now in place to protect it…I hope it recovers.

This tomato's only crime was to be planted at the end of the bed where the deer could reach it easily.

This tomato’s only crime was to be planted at the end of the bed where the deer could reach it easily.

Planted from seed last year, these Hollyhocks have survived the deer twice. We're so happy to finally see the blooms, but we've yet to see the bees on them.

Planted from seed last year, these Hollyhocks have survived the deer twice. We’re so happy to finally see the blooms, but we’ve yet to see any bees on them.

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Sex in the Backyard with a Pretty Yellow Blossom

Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Birds Foot Trefoil pollination video, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Videos, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 16, 2013| 8 Comments »

Who ever said plant biology was boring?  Certainly not me after shooting this video.

When I shot this video I didn't realize I was witness an intimate relationship between flower and bee.

When I shot this video I didn’t realize I was witnessing an intimate relationship between flower and bee.  The pistil is still showing here, but in the video, the petals clamp shut soon after the bee moves on.

The flower provides the nectar to attract the bee. The bee lands on the flower, pulls the petals apart to reveal the pistil. The flower shoots out pollen which the bee carries away.

The flower provides the nectar to attract the bee. The bee lands on the flower, pulling the petals apart to reveal the pistil. The flower makes pollen available which the bee carries away.

Since this is my 100th blog, I wanted to do something special.  I wanted to have some music in the background.   Sweet Thunder, a quartet in Portland, graciously gave me permission to use one of their tunes called, “Blues in the Barn.”  Kiera O’Hara, who composed the music, said “she wrote it when she lived on a tree farm in Michigan and her piano room was a refurbished nook in an old barn.”  “We are a collaborative bunch, so the sound of my tunes on the disk is very much the result of that collaboration.”

Thank you Sweet Thunder for the sweet music.

The video shows the bee and flower cooperation.  I never took biology in school, so I don’t know if they show this racy stuff, but this is an unrated Bee movie in the truest sense.

I was unsure what this blossom was.  I thought it might be a yellow vetch, so I asked Morris Ostrofsky.  Morris, a forty year beekeeper and scientist affiliated with the Oregon State Master Beekeeping Program positively identified this blossom as a Bird’s Foot Trefoil.
“The plant is indeed Birds Foot Trefoil. This plant ranks high on the bees’ favorite forage list.  If you go back in some of the older bee publications, it was actually encouraged as bee forage. However, it’s no longer encouraged because it has been found to be invasive. However, the bees’ still love it.”

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