Bumble Fumbles the Sweet Peas

Here we are in the middle of what is for me the least appealing month in northern New Mexico. Our beloved juniper trees, that give us and the creatures so much joy and comfort, are in their season of pollinating. I don't know if you've ever seen this phenomenon but literally zillions of pollen spores (gladiator balls in disguise) are madly released by the wind, or even a breath of air from the wings of a passing bird.

The result is a cacophony of minute particles fighting for access to every orifice on a person. And they do succeed. Because I am drinking (and eating) the marvelous Xocai Healthy Chocolate, I am not suffering with congestion, coughs or body aches. Truly, it is miraculous. But the eyeballs are another matter entirely. The pollen particles gang up and surge onto these mounds of moistness. Added to that a rash. It's not pretty, I can tell you.

So it is with a lovely happenstance that I remembered this delightful bumble bee fumbling sweet peas while I walked the gardens at the Ville d'Este in Italy one summer. I was transported to a place where it had just rained, I'd disembarked the barco (ferry), and everything was so MOIST. 

Here he is: the amazing fumbling bumble bee. The biggest bee I've ever seen, with the bluest wings I've ever seen. A beauty. He's even got a little halo of pollen.

Now if I could just get him over here to gather some juniper pollen and make some juniper honey, along with a few friends, then perhaps the dry, dusty pollen attacks would disappear in a puff of dust. Poof! I'm going in search of some now, and at the very least I'll do a rain dance :~)