Spring has become a confusing mess where I live in the western part of NY state. 70 degree days followed by wet snow. Hail by day, clear 20 degree nights. Its not fun to live in, or make plans around. Worst of all, its hard on the plants. I'm hoping at this point most people are aware of the importance of pollinators for our survival on this beautiful earth. We need our food! Being surrounded by flowering fruit trees on my property, I have noticed the last few years that there has been a serious decline in bees in the spring. This past April has been crazy. I won't go into the details, but it has pulled me into my head, and not in a good way. Yesterday I was walking the dogs down one of our paths when I heard the most beautiful, welcoming, calming sound, and smelled the essence of spring. The scent was apple blossoms on a warm afternoon breeze and the sound was bees! This dynamic rapture snapped me out of the fog I was in and into the beauty of the moment in the most glorious and loving but commanding way. Here, now, She said. And oh what a moment it was. The bees are back this year, in their full glory. I made a point of going to every tree on our property and checking in on the bees, yes! Lots and lots on all of them, hooray! I am not an entomologist, so I can't name names but I saw all kinds, in all sizes, and all of them were BUSY. It was awesome. Welcome spring, welcome bees.