The brush clearing continues, somewhat. Today was rainy, so nothing got done today. And yesterday we knocked off early when I lifted up a discarded scrap of old plywood to discover a bumblebee nest. They were angry, and I was happy to leave them alone to calm down. Today I spent some quality time on the interwebs learning that it's unlikely I can move them successfully. I don't want to kill them, so I think I'll give them their space until fall when they'll die off and abandon the nest. In the meantime, I made us/them a protective cover - the top 3/4ths of a gallon milk jug covering the entrance to the nest. They can enter and leave easily, and we won't accidentally go tromping through their space.
See that cleared area behind Cute Boyfriend's head? I did that. Simon helped some, but really, hiding out for a few hours is WAY easier than cutting saplings and hauling brush. All that scrub, right to the edge of the picture has to go.
Scott took this picture - don't you love it?
He took this one too, down in the woods where the
Northwest Reliability Project is being installed. This is VELCO's version of brush clearing, concurrent with our efforts. If they disturbed a bees' nest, they'd never even know it, let alone spend even a second trying to figure out how to let them live.
See that cleared area behind Cute Boyfriend's head? I did that. Simon helped some, but really, hiding out for a few hours is WAY easier than cutting saplings and hauling brush. All that scrub, right to the edge of the picture has to go.
2 comments:
So no one was stung? Good deal. I have never seen a bumblebee nest, must look it up. I have a line up of shrubs that need trimming, but it's full of birds right now, so it stays. Besides, I don't know when its a good time to cut the different varieties.
Yes, please, I am so glad you let them live! We have so very few bees, my squash is not even getting pollinated. The flowers grow large and gorgeous, and never see a bee to spread the pollen around. Pesticides are great, huh??
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