Today I spent the morning interviewing an artist who might be illustrating my upcoming book about a pet crow that I had as a child. Then I returned home to spend a delightful afternoon with Thor Hanson, a gifted young biologist/author. Thor has written three marvelous books, one about the Gorillas that he studied in Africa, His second book entitled "Feathers" explores the wonders of birds feathers. His next book "Seeds" is a fascinating tale of the evolution and wonders of seeds. He is now working on a book about bees. I was flattered that he wanted to spend the afternoon with me learning of my experiences with the Orchard Mason Bee.
We sat for an hour watching the Mason Bees doing their work on my back fence.
Thor is that rare bird, an excellent scientist and a marvelous writer. If you are interested in the natural world you owe it to yourself to buy his books, Not since Fabre has nature writing been so engaging.
We sat for an hour watching the Mason Bees doing their work on my back fence.
Thor is that rare bird, an excellent scientist and a marvelous writer. If you are interested in the natural world you owe it to yourself to buy his books, Not since Fabre has nature writing been so engaging.
It was a lovely warm Spring day and the Mason Bees were hard at work. Here are a couple of them working on filling those 6 inch long nesting tubes with pollen and nectar and bee eggs. A fascinating spring ritual that I can watch for hours. Maybe tomorrow I will get back to work on those three tenors waiting in the workshop.
