Words Like Locusts Flew From Her Fingers

Debbie Does Duluth

Debbie Does Duluth-MN: Insanity on a Stick
Two interests have come out of my gardening, one being dyeing fiber from plants in my garden and the other being my interest in the bees in my garden. I could literally sit for hours and watch the bees on the flowers in my garden. I will sit on the front steps near the sidewalk as the bees buzz a few inches away from my head and they will just go about their business as I gawk. When I planted pumpkins in the vegetable garden, the bees would disappear into the flower and reappear totally covered with bright yellow pollen. I found it charming and hey, it beats taking drugs to get happy.

Hey! I really like bees too! Bees are my little pals. I intentionally plant some things because I’ve seen how much they enjoy them. Anise-scented hyssop, for example. The bees really like the flowers on that. Here’s a picture of a bee on last year’s hyssop.

See the little pollen basket on his leg? Cool.

The original clump of hyssop isn’t doing as well this year. Apparently it’s one of those herbs that’s only really healthy for a single year. Might as well rip it out this fall and start fresh next year.

Anyway… bees. As far as I know, I’ve never been stung by a bee. Ever. I think they must know I’m their friend.

Besides hyssop, I’ve also sometimes planted purple basil for them. Bees are CRAZY for the flowers that form on purple basil. Plus, there’s the added benefits to humans of a really nice-looking plant with an amazing scent, and some basil for cooking.

Okay… So. Before going off on this bee and flower tangent, I’d intended simply to draw your attention to a blog I recently discovered: Debbie Does Duluth-MN. I really like this one. The author is a wonderful writer and seems to be the kind of person who, if I met her, I’d like a lot. I can tell we have similar values. That she’s writing from my favorite city is just an added bonus.