WELL we all made it through another day and another night in one piece peacefully. Such a beautiful day yesterday. I have decided that TonTon is actually sleeping with Mama because she is casting such a big shadow.
Do you see? Mama has a dogs tail, someone is using her as shade. How embarrassing!
Daisy has been experimenting with war paint because someone else in the barn yard is taking ALL the attention. It was so warm yesterday that they gathered under the mulberry tree even though it has no leaves yet.
A curious thing happened when I went to take a shot of the bees. They are carrying pollen into the hives at an astonishing rate and I wanted to capture an image of their little legs laden with the good stuff and I found this instead.
I have zoomed in a wee bit for you, which reduces the clarity but we don’t mind this once. Look closely at the bouncer bee. They call them doormen bees but I prefer the word bouncers. The Pub Bouncers in NZ are usually handsome, well dressed gentlemen with good teeth. They stand smiling at the doors of most of the bars at home. They are not doormen, though they will open the door for you. They all carry this underlying animal, barely in check, and their eyes in their smiling faces ceaselessly cruise for battle. You behave yourself in these bars or you will be getting a tap on your shoulder. And it is not a nice tap.
In that shot above, a bouncer has ranged out on his muscly legs to confront a blue fly, obviously the fly is either inappropriately dressed or drunk. I am thinking drunk to even think about getting into The Hive. The Hive is a very private bar. Now look closely, do you see?, There is another even tinier fly sat on top of the blue fly. Is he trying to talk his way in? Does he think that piggy back bugs get in for half price or something? Well, he is not getting in in those shorts and jandals I can tell you that. They are going to be bounced right back out of there, down the steps and onto the footpath. Oh wait. Maybe they are the band! 
OK here is a better shot. The equivalent of rolling in the kegs. That bee on the right has pollen. A good haul. In March! And I think they are getting it from these flowers. 
The Forsythia. Our bees first real feast. I have planted a hedge of these. Next will be the pussy willow, which is about to bloom in the next few days! There is also a little tiny clover flowering already. The farmy is waking up!
And Queenie Wineti has been put out on one of the small meadows because The Bobby (you will remember that any steer we are fattening is called The Bobby and any sheep destined for the freezer are called Murphys), anyway The Bobby is behaving inappropriately. The Bobby has decided to stay a baby all his life. He had to be parted from Daisy because he wanted her to be his mother. I am trying to say this delicately. Suffice to say that he was not breastfed long enough as a baby. So he cannot be with Daisy because he will ruin her udder and now he has had to be parted from Queenie as well. Sigh. He is a nuisance this animal. Not one single brain in his head. Queenie is thrilled, as she gets to go out on the grass. First.
The grass is still too short, it will be at least three weeks before anyone else gets out there but I cannot put Queenie back into a dark barn pen in this glorious weather. Animals need the sun and the space.
We had a lovely wee visit at the Old Folks Home yesterday. The Old Codger was in the physiotherapy room. TonTon was greeted with shrieks of delight both from the staff and the residents. The Old Codger introduced him around with such pride. This is some bright dog, he said. It was the best visit yet. Ton just loved everyone and they cannot get enough of him. He almost wagged his tail right off. His presence turned into corridor gossip. People in wheelchairs were pushing themselves to their doors as we processed past to his room. The Old Codger waving like the Queen in her slow moving wagon. It was great.
As we were leaving, TonTon and I were chased down the corridor by one of the Occupational Therapy person who had heard me laughing with the Old Codger about bringing lambs in. (If Mama ever decides to give birth.) Nothing is private when you are talking to a deaf person. He said he would PAY me to bring more animals in. I said what about a calf or a pig or a chicken. He said he would clear a room. What about a cow I said, thinking of Queenie. How high, he said, moving his hand up and down in the air. I told him they are not house trained you know. He did not even blink. That is fine, he said. Many of these residents came off farms he told me, and most of them have given up animals. Just no ducks he said. Ducks scare me.
Good morning.
Fine and clear again this morning. The dawn chorus this is deafening today. Isn’t life just full of possibilities. And I have to say that I would not have thought of pursuing the therapy dog angle if you had not encouraged me, so YOU get to feel proud too. Now just imagine me trotting two little sheep around the healthy laughing wards! I am off to work now, The Farmy is waking up to another day.
Good morning.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
93 responses to “Bouncers in the Bee hive and a Most Unsettling Steer”
My favorite is Mama with the TonTon tail!
That made me laugh too! That dog was completely hidden by her big fat self, this heat is hard on her too.. ;poor mama.. c
Mama has such a lovely face. Love the bee story!
Morning Debra, i must pop over and see how things are in my beloved Italy! c
This is one of my all-time favourite posts of yours – and I love them all, so that’s high praise! I hope that was a serious suggestion to bring the old folk to the farmy – fabulous idea. Your clover looks very healthy.
Viv, you are a darling, and I do agree about the clover, it makes me feel so happy to see it growing like that. ! c
This makes me so happy to read. Yesterday I got an email from a co-worker trying to find a home for a cat. The email said it had lived with a person who had gone to the nursing home and the cat would go “to the pound” if a home wasn’t found. I was so furious I replied (to all) that it’s bad enough the person lost their home… but to threaten to euthanize their cat was beyond cruel.
Please take all the animals you can.
An old lady said to me yesterday how much she loved seeing the dogs and she said “especially for us who have had to give up our animals” she said that straight to me as TonTon lay under her hands.. she asked me if I had a cat who would come.. though I am not sure about that one, i will see what mary’s cat does in the car, he is the friendliest and most adventuresome, it would take a while to train a cat to go to strange places with me, i will try tho.. c
Love the tail and I cannot believe your Forsythia is already blooming! Lucky girl!
Have a lovely day ~ April
Morning April .. yes we are definitely abloom! c
This is great Celi, you are going to be like Patch Adams ;). I’m sure they all are going to be delighted.
Thanks for the update on the farmy.
Good morning!
Morning giovanna! hope you are having a lovely weekend! c
hey sweet C, I am away from home with a family member who has memory loss, eating chocolate and admiring the pictures of your animals and thinking about when Zeb was a pup and i did agility with him. one time we took him to show off to a group of old folks in their big tv room, made him a mini course and took lots of treaty bits so they all got to have some fun with him, getting him to do some of his commands. I love the idea of you taking sheep on a visit 🙂 🙂 Really made me smile
Morning Joanna, Zeb would have been perfect in a home being so small, what a wonderful idea to take treats for the oldies to give to him, i thought they might like to feed the lambs!! c
The blue fly is either inappropriately dressed or drunk? you are a regular riot, Celi!
So good to have you back.
Ronnie
Morning ronnie, well he was obviously being denied entrance!! c
I’d like to think that wee fly is standing on top helping out (only courageous with the help of the bouncer bee). I love that you can see that thick pollen, very cool!! You’re warm there?!! Lovely, we are inching warmer each day. I faux planted some pansies that I can bring in (still in pots) from the planter if it’s cold. We had a pig brought in to our school as a birthday present to our principal one day… well, a piglet.. what fun that was the little guy was tearing all over the place!!! So I encourage you to bring in another animal.. just not sure which one;) Perhaps a baby chick would be a better size??
I know what you are saying the logistics of bringing tow or three of the bigger animals would be very interesting but I am game!! They just have to be able to fit in my little cooking oil car tho!! maybe a chick is a good idea.. c
not to mention a 90+ mile round trip
well there is that, but merely logistics! c
Morning Celi ! or rather afternoon here, sitting at home listening to the Rugby, reading about Kiwi bouncers, and flys that are wearing shorst and jandals, looking at photos of a fat sheep with a waggy tail, and a therapist who is scared of ducks. Life’s beautiful !
Morning Claire, ah the rugby! and yes ain’t life grand!! c
You had a good eye to catch all the detail in what’s happening at your hive, Celi! I’m fascinated with bees, and closely following the concerns with the dwindling bee population. I have several very large lavender plants and the bees have been very plentiful for so early in the spring. I would love to have a hive…I looked into it, but ah, those nasty zoning ordinances! 🙂 I’m going to eagerly see what you may do with the therapist’s encouragement to bring more animals in to brighten the residents’ lives. Could you possibly point me to any of your early posts about when and how this got started? I just think it’s such a great thing to do, and I admire your doing it…it isn’t like you have nothing else to do with your time! 😉 Your green grass looked like shamrocks to me, so enjoy St. Paddy’s–even we non-Irish can get into the party mood! Debra
morning debra, i began to take TonTon is three weeks ago, yesterday was his third visit. An old friend of ours fell (Ton used to visit him with me twice a week in his own home) and he is having his rehab in this retirement home. So we are VERY new to the whole thing.. but maybe some of these animals can pay for their own hay by visiting .. how about that for a bonus! c
Brilliant post and some lovely shots! I had to laugh that a cow would be ok, but no ducks 😉
I know! but I think he was thinking of a calf.. cows are not often friendly as we know! c
Love the 1st pic – thanks for sharing! Have a Great Weekend:)
Morning renee! c
Ha! That TonTon…such a resourceful doggie.
Mama casts a long shadow.. c
Lovely read C. Really enjoyed it. Super photos. At first glance I thought Mama had sat on TonTon!
Regards Florence x
That gave me a laugh Florence, one would not want to be sat upon by Mama at this point! c