Wisteria gives me a buzz

Friday, April 28, 2006

You know you're obsessed with your new camera equipment when [fill in the blank].

My answer: When you're willing to snuggle up to a swarm of bees because you want that perfect tight shot of a single one.

It took two parts tenacity, one part bravery, and perhaps a dash of insanity to get this shot. I was out to take photos of the wisteria flowers by the edge of the community garden. As I got closer, I heard the buzz -- a loud buzz. Then I saw the swarm. There were no less than 30 large bees buzzing around that bush -- maybe more if you count the ones that were burrowed inside the fence post. They looked to me like bumble bees, so I didn't think they had stingers. Still, it was a bit unnerving.

I hung out with those bees for about an hour, hoping not to cause too much of an interruption in their frantic pattern of nectar gathering and mating. At one point, I thought the bees might signal to each other, "Hey, that lady's been hanging out here too long, let's all swarm her!"

Fortunately, I came away unscathed. And a few of the bees had paused long enough for me to get some great shots.