Corny Butterly Bee House

Ahhhh, it feels great to breathe again without the hayfever sneezing and snorfling. Those Aerius allergy tabs. work great --wish I didn't have to take anything but I sure don't want a repeat of yesterday.

So my husband and I worked on the deck again today. We've got one set of steps attached, cedar bark under the deck ( which will be covered with lattice so cats can't get in ) and the 'brace' for where the upper lattice will go ( gives more privacy and a place to grow vines, sweet peas, etc...). Now it's off to work for him, he's working nights until mid-July then back to days.

While taking a water break I wanted to capture this beautiful butterfly on one of the 'butterfly plants' we have growing in the side yard. I believe it is a Tiger Swallowtail. There were two but they wouldn't stay together for long, so one will do.



Then I meanered over to what I call the 'tomato box', except I'm not sure if we're going to grow tomatoes this year. Instead, while perusing the local garden center, I decided to buy a wee package of corn and try growing some, just as an experiment. Some people will say you can't grow certain things in certain areas, but I like to try anyway because you never know !
I planted 4 seeds but one didn't make it. It tried and maybe is still trying but so far the other 3 are doing very well. Quite exciting seeing it do so well ( got the fingers and toenails crossed ). This variety is called Kandy Korn and I've also planted a few more in our sons little garden in the backyard, It's not as tall ( sun isn't as strong in that area ) and the bugs have been nibbling at the greenery, but it's growing.



Finally I wanted to show you our 'bee house'. A few years ago we had to take down a couple of dead trees and the previous owner had attached a bird house. We found another tree for it and it became home to tree sparrows which we enjoyed for several years. But then that tree had to be topped ( otherwise it could have toppled into our home ) which left the bird house open to even more predators. So down it came and sat for awhile in the back of the shed. Well, one day I decided to put it on top of a stump we have near the house but first was going to try to remove the old grass, etc...Why did I soon find myself amongst a bunch of bumble bees ? I soon noticed they had come from one of the bird house openings and were 'looking' confused. I quickly abandoned emptying the house and gently put it onto the stump, hoping I hadn't ruined what was probably a terrific new home for the plump fuzzy buzzers. YAY ! They soon found their relocated pad and now we have a lovely bunch of bumble bees seemingly forever at work. If you put your ear near the house you can hear the buzzing. My husband thinks I'm a bit odd because I like to 'pet' the bumble bees ---but only when their face is inside a flower do I gently touch just past the wings, very soft.
Makes me feel very content when I see bees at work. I'm hoping we'll have even more blueberries this year too because of them :)



--love how the gnome turned out ! It looks like he's a perfect size for the house, but he's actually a foot tall !
Oh, and just to let you know, I am not a gnome person but my mom had several on her sundeck and I wanted to keep at least one.