Diario de joffenbacher

Honeybees and Bumblebees continued to visit the garden in large numbers during nice weather the first couple weeks of September. I also saw a Hover Fly and some small Carpenter bees. Even saw two Bumblebees flying around in a light rain. Bees gradually declined towards the end of the month but were still more prevalent than in past years. At times, the Bumblebees outnumbered the Honeybees. By October, my time outside declined due to the weather and other obligations. Bee numbers continued to decline. I noted a concern about a motionless Bumblebee on a cool, breezy mid October afternoon. I had observed this in the past and now mixed a small amount of organic sugar and filtered water in a dropper, and placed several drops in reaching distance of the bee’s mouth in case it required sustenance to return to the hive, and it was gone by the end of the day. By the middle of the month, an occasional bee and White butterfly. Occasionally cleaned up dead leaves off the back patio and cleaned gutters towards the end of the month. Two Honeybees and Bumblebees, each, on the 24th, were the most I would see for the rest of the year. This would also be my final sighting of a Bumblebee for the year as the weather continued to turn colder and rainy. As November rolled around, I regularly picked up leaves. On sunny and relatively warm days, sighted two Honeybees on the 4th and a solo one on the 7th and 8th, which was my final sighting. Leaves and more leaves followed by Thanksgiving. It was time to get ready for the Holidays. Still, the neighbors’ leaves failed to drop. I would be cleaning out front gardens and picking up their leaves in December. In addition, moving potted plants to the back patio before moving them into the garage for winter. Now, how to have enough flowers for my upcoming 5th generation of Mason bees come in the Spring?

With the garden planted and pots full of a wider variety of native plants, the turnout was worth the effort. A new and different type of Catmint bloomed throughout the season and was highly favored by honeybees. Bumblebees visit just about every type of plant during the course of the season. The last of the early summer Wool Carder bees finally found Penstemon to their satisfaction. I observed several unidentified species that failed to stay long enough for me to grab my phone, inside, and photograph. They were small, about the size of a Sweat Bee. One black with a gold stripe. Another gray with an orange circle on the back. By July, it was not uncommon to see as many as ten bees in the garden at once, half and half Honeybees and Bumblebees. This was the most, ever. I did not see a Hummingbird until the first day in August. A solo Wood Carder in the back patio area 8-10, and the first Monarch in two seasons on 8-22. Of note, I spent less time in the garden areas because I played senior softball. Therefore observations might be considered skewed. A neighbor and I noted fewer butterflies in recent years, despite growing attempts to attract them. The white butterflies are the most common visitors. I saw one Red Admiral and a couple of unidentified ones on my Butterfly Bush. By late August, most of the flowers had started to fade. I made a trip to the nursery to purchase some Blanketflower to put in pots to increase the choices until the end of the season. A warm Fall was predicted, and I wanted to support all pollinators until their final visit to my garden, whenever that may be.

Mild, overcast, wet days continued but were now more seasonal. However, the short cold spells in between, played havoc with the blooming of my early Spring flowers in March. Only one Hellebore and Bleeding Heart flower on multiple plants. Trillium died before blooming and had to be replaced. Wood Poppies bloomed later than usual. However, flowers in the elevated wood planter had their best year. Bishop’s Cap grew and seasonally bloomed, followed shortly by Bleeding Heart, Jack Frost, and Canadian Wild Ginger, later in the Spring. Blue Bells in the garden in bloom starting 3-21. With seasonably warm temperatures, I noted evidence of the emergence of the Mason Bees, house still in the garage, on 4-3, a bit earlier than usual. However, I did not see an actual bee until 4-9. This prompted a trip to the nursery for blooming flowers for the bees, as all well intentioned, previous attempts to sustain them had failed, due to the weather. Bugloss seemed to be my most popular selection. The weather seemed to play havoc with the Mason Bees this year, as well. In the past, I had worked outside while one or two filled holes in the Mason Bee house over the course of a couple weeks without much interruption. In this case, cold wet weather halted activity which didn’t seem to pick back up when it became nicer. Then, to my surprise, I would see another Mason Bee flying around, just as I was about to give up hope. This pattern repeated an additional two times, sometimes with the emergence of new Mason Bess from the house. Ended up with the usual number of holes filled in the house for Spring of 2024. I saw a White Butterfly 4-12. While hitting at Mc Coy park, saw honeybees on clover, 4-19 and bumblebees, 4-21. Back home, some kind of bee or flower fly on Jack Frost 4-20. Pots of flowers were brought from the garage to the front 4-11, but many of the plants were old and had seen their better days, needing to be replaced. Some were overgrown with a variety of plants, none of which were doing well. With some seventy degree days in May, it was time for more trips to the nursery. The ivy on the front porch needed to be trimmed on 5-3, and I cleaned up seed pods from the Magnolia that never really flowered and whose leaves arrived and matured later than normal. 5-19 got a glimpse of what I thought was a honey bee, but it turned out to be a Wool Carder. They had been prevalent during the previous Fall, and I was surprised to see one so early. There were some native plants in bloom, but none seemed to be to their liking. This took me by surprise, and references stated the same. They left after about a week of dissatisfaction. A black Carpenter Bee on Pincushions 5-21. First Honeybee on Salvia in the garden 5-28. A small worker Bumblebee and a wasp of some sort buzzing the garden 5-29. Summer was about to begin.

Outdoor work was completed in December after the neighbors’ trees dropped their leaves. Noted in email exchange with Raimund, high school friend and German foreign exchange student, the cold weather and snow forecast for Christmas Day. Shoveling five inches of snow in below zero temperatures is not the best way to celebrate a Holiday but needed to occur. January brought a number of mild, overcast, sometimes rainy days mixed with seasonable temperatures. First Robin, noted 1-30, ate mealworms voraciously. February was similar but with a few more colder days. Nonetheless, was able to get to Mc Coy park and hit off the Tee four times ahead of April senior softball practice. The first blooming Snow Drop 2-15. Trillium and Wood Poppies coming up in elevated wash stands as was Bleeding Heart, Blue Bells, and Hellebore in the wash tubs by the house. Hoping for blooms coinciding with emergence of Mason Bees in their house stored in my garage to protect them from the weather. On mild days, was able to use rainwater from catch pots to water the planters in the garage

I typically begin the season with a trip to buy Blanket Flower over the Labor Day weekend. Because it is often in short supply at this time, I need to visit a number of different places to find plants that are blooming and capable of sustaining late season pollinators. However, this flower has declined in popularity with all of the Natives now available on the property. However, with some recent Blanket Flower planted in pots, I believed that the trip was unnecessary. Both Stonecrop Seedum had just started to bloom, which has been particularly attractive to Honeybees. My new Cardinal Flower and Obedient Plant would soon be in bloom. And Hyssop and Agastache were continuing to be the primary choice in many instances. As the Summer Natives died out, Blanket Flower did attract some visitors by mid September. By this time, gardens and some potted plants started to look ragged. Plants that spread by seed had invaded other planters or the space of other plants in the gardens. In some instances, I didn’t mind so much because the new plants sustained my pollinators and are not designed to enhance the landscaping design. However, I do need to remove some of the new plants in areas where competition has reduced the productive growth of both plants. I saw a Bumblebee foraging for food in back at the end of the month. Last year, one discovered the Coral Bells in washtub planter by the garage, but such was not the case this year. Some cool days by the end of the month and the start of October. By 5, the weather had warmed and bees were out in full force. Hit or miss the rest of the month with colder and rainier days outnumbering the nice ones. A Cooper’s Hawk visited 10 looking to feed on one of the Sparrows eating seed on my property. Observed two Honeybees on 22 during the day and a solo Bumblebee a little later. Cleaned and filled the hot tub for the winter on 24. 25 brought a smaller, green type of ‘bee’ or ‘fly.’ Had not seen anything like this, previously, and was unable to identify it online. Later, saw the last Bumblebee of the season, a small one foraging the few remaining plants at dusk. A solo Honeybee on 27 and then finally on 29. Found a young opossum in my carport in the early afternoon, finding shelter from the rain. Many of the Magnolia leaves had been picked up by this time, having fallen a bit earlier than usual. Most of the outdoor work was completed by Thanksgiving. Cleaned out gardens and cut back plants on nicer days after that. As the weather became cold, brought planters into the sheltered area of the fenced in back patio and then finally into the carport. It was time for the Holiday Season.

Bee Balm and Coneflowers bloomed the first week in June, which seemed a little early this year. By the second week, I saw a small Bumblebee on the south garden Milkweed. Weather permitting, they became regular visitors in increasing numbers, 2,3,4 at a time. Dinner with a friend on 16, remarked that he had yet to see a bee in his garden plot area on the west side of town. I had not seen a Honeybee since May 31. That evening, had a power outage that lasted until mid morning. Previous outages in the area earlier in the week due to a storm. By 21, finally saw a Honeybee, a Sweat Bee, and a smaller black beee, perhaps a female Carpenter Bee, on 22. 27 saw what I believed to be a Yellow Jacket and a Ligated Furrow Bee on Blanket Flower. Great to see this diversity, however, butterflies were clearly fewer in numbers. Annually see a Cabbage White but no Monarchs this year. Sad. Hostas bloomed on porch early July and surprised to see Bumblebees on them with the availability of Natives. July 2, saw a Dancer on east fence. 6 heavy rainfall of 5 inches brought a text from Cousin Jake in Colorado the following morning saying he saw it on the news and eventually a power outage lasting 5-6 hours. 10 saw what I believe to be a Streaktail Butterfly on newly blooming Agastache. By 12, no longer seeing the small black bee but did see a small swarm of small, hyper whatever’s that landed momentarily on flowers and quickly flew away. This lasted for several days. By 28, Hyssop blooming became a Honeybee favorite. Had quite a few softball games rained out up to this point, but as we played more consistently, my observations and time in the gardens declined. Wool Corder Bees returned late July, sometimes two at a time. Gayfeather bloomed in early August but was only moderately popular given the other choices. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail observed mid August. 16 a large Bumblebee asleep on a flower for an extended period. Bumblebees and Honeybees continued to visit in large numbers through the end of the month as did a Wool Corder. Bought White, Blue, Red Cardinal Flower and an Obedient Plant that grew and bloomed into the Fall but was also of only moderate popularity.

I typically shovel snow on the back patio (essentially a small back yard with brick pavers) into the garden containing the Magnolia. As the large pile of snow melted, I saw my first Snow Drop in bloom, March 1. This bloom usually occurs weeks earlier. I no longer see my Winter Aconite planted with bulbs several years ago and vowed to get more. These harbingers of Spring are always a welcome sight..By March 3, I developed some type of allergic reaction while working outside which lasted a week. It could have come from the composted Magnolia blooms spread over the gardens last Fall. Or perhaps while cutting back the Hyssop or Agastache. Made another mental note to wear a mask next year around the aforementioned plants in the Spring and fertilize my plants in a different manner. By the second week of March, I saw growth from Bleeding Heart, Hellebores, Yellow Archangel, Bishops Cap, Coral Bells, Spiderwort, Catmint, and Lamium in large back patio planters. In the front gardens White and Purple Sage. Early buds formed the following week while Wood Poppy, Snake Root, Ligularia, and Toad Lilly started their first growth. I have two Mason Bee houses, one on each side of the house. In front, found a small, black ‘bee’ of some kind emerge from one of the holes, only to encounter a spider. A fight ensued. I interceded, perhaps to the detriment of each of the combatants. By 23 was picking whole Magnolia flowers in bloom off the back patio and the Forsythia bloomed across the alley on 26, the exact same day as last year.A cold night into the 20s browned the remaining blooms on the Magnolia. Then, snow on April 1 ended all hope for further flowering. First Hellebore bloom April 3. First Bluebell in the garden bloom April 7. Unfortunately, Bluebells in large container never returned. Saw my first Honeybee at McCoy Park on Clover while hitting off the Tee getting ready for softball season on April 20. First Mason Bee popped out of the back Mason Bee house still in the garage and started working the House now placed on the back patio on April 23. In addition, a presumably Queen Bumblebee feeding on Bleeding Heart the same day. This is my earlier sighting of one actually on flowers on my property. A wet April canceled all scheduled outdoor softball practice. Saw at least two Mason Bees working the House May 1. The cold squelched all plants intended to feed them. So, unsure where they obtain their food. After a cold week, there was only one. She lasted until the middle of the month. I was disappointed by the lack of opportunity to work side by side with the Mason Bees like last year, but there were still plenty of potential offspring for the following year as Nature provided two bees instead of one to achieve the same result. Saw my first Hummingbird at the feeder at dusk May 12. It was green and flew away quickly. I dumped 20 gallons of rainwater on the front plants on an 80 degree May 17, and saw my first Wasp of the year. In addition, a Woodlouse Spider feeding off the remaining decayed Magnolia blossoms around the catch pots. By 22, sage, Spiderwort, Catmint were blooming in front. Milkweed in the garden by 27, which seemed early. Saw my first Honeybee on the property 8 AM on Memorial Day and a Bumblebee on sage the following day.

A variety of weather over the course of three months. With the pollinators tucked away, my focus turned to feeding the birds. Sparrows and a couple Cardinals spend the winter in the area. By late December or early January, I usually see a Robin or two and a large plague of Grackles as the weather turns cold. This year, they appeared later than usual. Although I shoveled snow on January 17 and 20, I did not see a Robin until 27. Grackles followed the next day, devoured my seed and then attacked the vines on my neighbor’s garage across the alley for additional food. It grew cold with below zero wind chills a couple days later. I always wonder if the Robins are Canadian and fly south staying close to my house after finding a food source. They devoured pound after pound of meal worms until leaving, in late Spring. It warmed to 50 degrees in early February bringing rain. I worked for several days ahead of a storm to clear the downspouts which were blocked by slowly melting snow that had frozen. The storm brought an inch of rain but turned to ice and snow threatening power lines. I maintained power but needed to dig out the driveway the next day and fixed the garage door that was s stuck to it. It rained again, two inches on 17, and I spent an early evening cleaning up water in the basement of this 152 year old house. By the last day of the month, it was warm enough to start working in the gardens.

Given the variability of a plants’ blooming season, there is a need to insure the availability of pollinator friendly plants up until cold weather. I am typically on the hunt for Gaillardia over the Labor Day weeken in pursuit of this goal. Can usually find some space in one of the gardens. If not, in a pot-but then transplant it into the garden before it gets too cold. The previous year, Agastache and Hyssop bloomed late into the season, as did the Sunflowers, Butterfly Bush, and Autumn Joy Seedum. So, there was plenty of choice for most of my visitors. This year, I had not planted Sun Flowers.
By late September, I started to see a decline in the number of Bumblebees. Honey Bees-about the same in number. Noticed a smaller Bumblebee working on the Heuchera planted in the north washstand on back patio. 10-6, noted a Bumblebee drying itself off in the sun. I had seen instances of late season Bumblebees sleeping on a flower, sometimes overnight, and researched ways to care for them in such instances. I was still playing morning softball and did not get outside to survey the gardens as frequently, and a need to care for a Bumblebee stuck in the cold never came up that season. 10-18 was the first day not seeing a pollinator in months. 10-25 and 10-28 saw a Honey Bee on the Gaillardia and was glad to have made my Labor Day search. 10-28 last Bumble sighting on Hyssop.
By November, Magnolia leaves started to yellow and fall in small numbers. A Honey Bee on the Stone Crop Seedum 11-10. My last sighting of the season, and always a little sad to say goodbye. Still, the Impatients and Begonias in rock planters out back under the Magnolia were still in bloom, being protected by the privacy fence. However, the first snow, three days later ended their time. I picked up leaves, cleaned gutters and gardens and cut back some dead plants throughout the rest of the month.
By December, most of the work had been completed. Added composted Magnolia booms from the Spring in all gardens, then put away tools and cleaned up the garage cabinets. By 12-11, late falling leaves from the neighbor’s tree across the alley had been picked up. Some short periods of warm weather. My neighbor pointed out buds on the Magnolia tree. However, it was time to play the bowl pool and start my winter cleaning and repair projects.
All in all, a good season for the pollinators, though saw fewer butterflies, both in type and number.

The Forsythia across the alley bloomed 3-26. Spiderwort bloomed in pot 5-4. In the front gardens, first coneflower bloomed 5-4. This seemed quite early in comparison with past years. First Sage bloomed 5-6. Noticed some of the late planted Gaillardi from last summer returned. This was a first. The first bumblebee in garden 5-27. Again, earlier than past years. First honeybee 5-31. Borage planted last year reseeded and bloomed 6-7 in south, front garden and just outside the garden in dirt that had collected inadvertently up against the stone border. By the last week in June, the bees were attacking every one of the plants and not just the Milkweed and Joe Pye as in the past year. This included Speedwell, Penstemon, Agastache, Hyssop. The Catmint lasted a long time and was especially popular, early in the season. Noticed a Monarch laying eggs on Milkweed 7-16. Added Great Blue Lobelia in a large planter. Successful blooming added a late summer pollinator attraction, especially for Bumblebees. Cardinal Flower added did not do so well in pot. Gayfeather in pot added and was successful in attracting bees but blooms were somewhat short lived. Added Trollis, Brunnera, Snake Root, Bishop’s Cap, Liguria, Coral Bells in back, more shady areas. Although neighbors talked of seeing Hummingbirds all summer, I did not see one until 8-30 feeding in front porch garden… it was gray with blue and purple. Posted photos included most of the garden visitors. However, was unable to photograph some because a device for taking snap shots was not handy at the time of the visit or the mobility of the subject of the photo created problems.