Janustory Day 14 and 15

Janustory Day 14: I have been startled awake by the inquiring probe of a long bee tongue.

Janustory Day 15: The petal slit, I can now escape, if only I could find a way down.

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Escape is nigh! The days are growing longer and we've got a brief respite in the form of temps in the 30s. Ice is melting and re-forming in interesting patterns like giant frozen soap bubbles. I am optimistically combing the yard for the first signs that spring will happen. In my garden, snowdrops are the first to appear. They may yet turn up by the end of the week. We shall see.

 

A little sign of spring to tide you over.

Janustory Day 12 and 13

Janustory Day 12: Although I have sufficient sustenance, I have been separated from the team.

Janustory Day 13: The sticky yellow petal walls of my prison are closing in on me.

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Today, I escaped the prison of January for a brief sojourn into Brazil courtesy of the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Yes, it's that time of year again, where I like to take advantage of our splendid conservatories and commune with the palm trees. Just leave me in the Fern Room where my eyes can feast on the lush green fronds with an occasional foray into the orchids for a splash of color.

Janustory Day 11

Janustory Day 11: The miniaturization process worked, but I am trapped and very afraid.

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New year, new experiences, new fears, new adventures. Change is inevitable whether you embrace it or fight it. I've chosen a crocus for this entry. This is one of the early crocus that seem to pop up overnight in March. They are stubborn little things that defy late snows and frosts. I plant them to remind myself that winter will pass and spring will happen. When you get down on your hands and knees and peer inside them, a new world appears. New things are just around the corner.

Janustory Day 10

Janustory Day 10: Bumblebees are terrifyingly gigantic from a tiny brown ant’s perspective.

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Bees. Magical, mystical, sometimes scary, sometimes silly, essential insect. Bumblebees are one of our native bees and are necessary pollinators in the garden. You can pet them if you're careful and they are busy harvesting nectar. I grow Dodecatheon meadia or shooting star just for the early bumbles. It's one of their favorites. I try to take some time in the summer and watch the bees in the raingarden. Because it is filled with flowers, primarily native, it is literally always buzzing. The bumbles have figured out that it is infinitely easier to slit the base of the floret on Monarda sp. or beebalm and sip the nectar from there. Even for long tongued bees, beebalm can be a challenge. Within this garden we have enjoyed welcoming new species of bees, flies, and wasps. These predators are making a difference in my pest insect population to the point I don't use insecticides. (That is until something like viburnum beetle turns up and that you do have to treat aggressively.) Anyway, I can only imagine the ant's perspective of a giant rumbling bumblebee paying a call to its flower. The quake it must cause in that tiny world!

 

Janustory Day 8 and 9

Janustory Day 8: The sticky liquid is sweet and quite delicious.

Janustory Day 9: My prison trembles and shakes – what is happening now?

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 It is snowing. Finally. However, it looks like it will dissolve by morning into sleet and rain. So, we have a bit of transitory evening snow. It adds a nice hush to the end of the day and a bit of frosting to the sere garden. We have one solar garden stake that has survived and earlier today it got enough light to be a frosty glimmer in the garden.