At the Watering Hole

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One of the things new beekeepers are advised to do is provide their bees with a source of water. (My sister will laugh at this, because she knows I'm a wee bit obsessed with providing water for stray animals.) The thinking goes like this: if you give the bees water, they won't go hunting for other sources and end up antagonizing the neighbors by drinking out of their swimming pools or dogs' water dishes.

I bought a water barrel back in June of 2011, but the bees never noticed it.




The cats loved to drink out of it, and of course, it came with an assortment of dead widow spiders.




Finally, about two weeks ago, the bees found the water. Even though it has been raining (finally!) for days and days, there are typically about a dozen bees drinking from the barrel.

I'm wondering what's going to happen when the cats need a drink?

Comments

Lisa said…
Love that picture of your cat drinking water! Hope your bees take advantage of it, too.

Lisa
Martha said…
Great photos as usual. You should work for Nat'l Geo. You are making me ready to put the birdbath out again.
Lisa said…
You are too nice. Photographing bees is an exercise in frustration.
Anonymous said…
Adorable picture of kitty drinking
Anonymous said…
I'm not a beekeeper but I have a birdbath that many bees use during the dry Summer days. They are interesting to watch (as you know). It seems like two bees often hang around on the edge.(Maybe protecting the water source or marking the location somehow for the other bees?) -Rose

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