SPRING IN THE WET ZONE

Okay—now I'm getting a little back to normal. At least, this entry is on a Friday, a usual day for one of my blog entries. Today, at least, I also feel some serenity, the first serenity since arriving here. I just haven't felt normal at all. Cross fingers for continued normalcy. See? It's pretty here—in a wet sort of way. The photos are from Frenchman's Bend or Point, or something. Can't find it on my Vancouver map, but it was in the area of the Lake Vancouver park complex.

AIN’T IT THE BEE’S KNEES?
AS THEY’D SAY DURING THE ROARING TWENTIES

Seems honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate in 24 of the contiguous United States. Maybe they just can’t crawl back to their combs after an all night long session with their honeys. I sometimes seriously doubt if the species we call homo sapiens will itself survive at the rate we’re destroying the planet and other species.

[SNIP]
A Cornell University study has estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, mostly fruits, vegetables and nuts. “Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation.

The bee losses are ranging from 30 to 60 percent on the West Coast, with some beekeepers on the East Coast and in Texas reporting losses of more than 70 percent; beekeepers consider a loss of up to 20 percent in the offseason to be normal.
[PASTE]