Bumblebees, butterflies and bunnies!
Yo howdy, I was gardening last week just before sunset, in the narrow patch between the sidewalk and 12th Street. It was a beautiful day. I saw a blur, felt a soft bump on an inside ankle, and watched a little bunny scamper-hop up the sidewalk and disappear into the yellow blooming zexmenia near the corner. It was such surprising cuteness. It may also explain why a fox or two have come up from Shoal Creek to visit our hillside gardens.
We have also established habitat for the American Bumblebee! Bumblebee populations have been in dramatic decline for decades. Bumblebee habitat is not often found in an urban environment.
Pictured is an August-born Queen, foraging to feed her eggs thru winter hibernation that begins in September. We also had Queen Bumblebees born in early May and late June. (Lifecycle seasons usually begin with more than one queen.) They’re big, bumbling, and make a lot of noise for a bug. This makes them noticeable, to viewers and predators. They nest underground, preferring areas of dense twigs and soft compost, which is how many of the hillside terraces have been formed.
Our Spring/Summer produce harvest has been substantially below last year’s production—most of the vegetables planted in the Spring were “liberated from the bondage of soil” by a visitor who had just been released from jail. What was possible to replant never fully recovered, and the replacements were planted too late to establish before the oven turned on.
We still were able to deliver a few hundred pounds – mostly herbs, kale and collards – to Angel’s House Soup Kitchen. There was a bit more to share, but harvesting this year lagged well behind growth. We experienced more people picking and munching produce on their own as they walked by.
I’m not sure what will actually be planted for our fall garden – it is time for this and I will need help.
Feeding the wildlife – the birds and bees, butterflies and bunnies, maybe the fox – seems to have been more successful this year. Our urban sanctuary for all of God’s creatures. I don’t know what discovered and ate most of the cantaloupe and watermelon. That happened quickly, just days or two before planned harvests.
Thank you all y’all – I know there are times when a “natural” garden looks a bit overgrown and unkempt, but things are growing according to their needs for survival. Many of the more dramatic incursions beyond the garden edges are plants not seeded by human hands. Many natives need to grow “lanky” to feed their roots for autumn blooms, but can now be trimmed again for another round of blooms.
Bumblebees, butterflies and bunnies. God’s Grace is with us always. It is right to give thanks in all circumstances.