>
The bees are hard at work in the garden, and we hear the sound of them as we work alongside them. There is a great feeling of industriousness in the air. This is one of the prettiest seasons out here, because we have had weeks of rain, the sun is out, the flowers are blooming, and everything is green. In a month or so, the dry weather will take its toll on the wild flora, and everything will be dry dry dry. That is when the danger of forest fires looms over us, and the worry of it stays with us until the rains of october. We have bone dry months ahead.
Still, now is a time of growth, cool breezes, and nights still cold enough for heavy blankets. We are eating plenty of lettuce out of the garden, we’re waiting on our second lot of radishes, and have been cutting collard greens, those champions of the summer. Last year, the collard greens and swiss chard bravely persevered in spite of the heat — i hope they will do so again this year. Life without greens, while probably Baki’s idea of heaven, would be grim for me.
While my mom was in town, I noticed that bees were coming into the house to look for holes to make nests in. These are solitary bees, not like our honey bees. They build nests in any hole they an find, so I made them a nest and put it outside (form what I have read, solitary bees do not sting). To my surprise, they went for it, so I made another, which is still empty.

let the bees prevail!