Here in the northern henisphere the weather is changing, signs of spring are all around. Birds are singing, flowers starting to bloom, dandelions popping up, and leaves appearing on the first early trees. My hives have come through winter and I can once again enjoy sitting on my bench and watch the bees busily hauling pollen into the hive. I've counted at least four different pollen colors coming in and the pollen baskets are bulging, it's a beautiful thing.
Watching the activity and seeing signs of spring around got me to thinking. This is my first spring with bees coming out of winter. What to expect I wonder? Two more months and my first year of this amazing journey with bees will end and the next will begin. My sense of wonderment about bees has only gotten stronger the more I've learned, and the more I've learned the more I realize I don't know.
Which is beautiful isn't it? The not knowing, the expanding understanding that no matter how much I learn there will always be more, the journey will never be complete. It's an unending cycle of observing and learning, partnering with these amazing creatures who not only make life possible but more enjoyable. They don't need us but we need them. Without us they would go on, enduring, continuing through the years, living and dying much as they have for millenia. Without them the world would be irrevocably altered. We have richer lives in more ways than we can ever understand because of them. We're the privileged ones because of them. Our lives are enriched in learning about life from them.
Which leads me back to the beginning of seeing the season change, the hives become active and wondering what I'll learn this year that I didn't know last year. I look forward to hearing what the bees tell me this year, about life, about themselves, and about myself. I hope you also enjoy the learning and smile at your bees for the lessons they teach us.
