Golden Moments

Don't know if silence is GOLDEN, but Italian honey bees definitely are.

Early morning Saturday, I watched a bee the color of liquid gold nectaring the lavender in our yard.

A golden opportunity to capture her brilliance. She won't live long. Field bees live only four to six weeks in the peak season, so in a few weeks she'll be gone. Others will take her place.

A click of the shutter and a moment preserved in time.

Meanwhile, work is progressing on the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden situated next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis.

By mid-October it will be finished and ready for golden moments--for the honey bees and the visitors. The haven will be a year-around food source for bees. Plus, it is expected to increase public awareness about the plight of bees AND help visitors glean ideas about what to plant in their own gardens.

Lavender is one of them.