Census

The population is going up soon. Census figures for this household will now include a few extra bees.

There is so much a little red dog has to learn about people and their ways and much of what I learn is strange indeed. I've learned that domestic honeybees aren't native to this country and they get raised like little livestock, given all kinds of antibiotics and set loose to pollinate specific crops. Sometimes they run out of food and starve after they have done their jobs. And they seem to be getting very sickly and dying out. But without bees, plants won't get pollinated and without plants we are all in some big trouble.

There are lots of other bees that are native to this country, are important plant pollinators and live in things other than beehives. Some lay their eggs in holes and here are some now! My Person is always fiddling and she made this bee nursery to encourage some of those other kinds of bees to hang around our garden. It is an amazing structure and busy as, well, a bee! It is like a huge apartment building, only one in which all the residents are goggle-eyed and can fly.

This makes me think about homes in the wild. I think I am pretty wild but the truth is I like sleeping on a soft couch. Other creatures are truly wild and even though we might help them along with nest boxes and feeders and nurseries, the best thing is if they have plenty of truly wild houses in the truly wild wilderness. And it is up to people to make sure that there are wild places left for wild creatures, places with No People, and it is up to little red dogs to remind them to do that.