Monday, May 25, 2009
Usually, there are two or three bees flying around the hive. But on Memorial Day about 3:00 in the afternoon, I noticed about 50 buzzing bees.  Curious and concerned, I walked back to see what was going on. They couldn't be swarming already, I knew, because their hive wasn't full. Had they been disturbed in some way?  Did the Queen fly away?  What was going on??

While I stood at the hive, I noticed several bees just hanging out on nearby leaves and a few walking around the ground. They were practically glowing in their tender golden color, like a glass jar full of honey held up to the sun.  No stripes and tiny eyes.  Who were these amber bees? 

Being a good librarian, I knew the answer would be found inside a book.  Sure enough, on page 140 of Beekeeping for Dummies, it tells me the new bees "appear lighter in color than her sisters and are covered with soft, damp hairs. Her eyes are tiny at first."  New Bees!!!!!

My friend and ukulele partner, Amy Fishbach, came over and said the Shehecheyanu in honor of these new bees:

Baruch Atah Adonoy Eloheinu Melech Haolom Shehecheyanu Vekeeyamanu Vehigeeyanu Lizman Hazeh

Blessed are You,
our God, Creator of time and space,
who has supported us, protected us,
and brought us to this moment.

The Shehecheyanu is one of those all around wonderful prayers. Jews are encouraged to say it during times of unusual circumstances, at milestone life events. Like the emergance of new bees!

Leave a Reply