Pam Webb

A Surfeit of Bees

I’m an appreciator of bees. They are truly amazing in design and admirable in purpose. I keep bees in mind when landscaping my backyard by maintaining a dedicated mound of lavender, not only because I find lavender to be a fairly perfect plant, I know bees enjoy lavender as well.

Once spring arrives and the lavender starts flowering I watch for the bees to arrive. It’s a Capistrano moment for me.

Some years it’s the tiny golden bees that are dominant. Occasionally there is a variety of bee with a bit of red to them. My favorites are the big, black bumblebees. They remind me of teddy bears, yet I wisely refrain my urge to hold them and hug them.

My penchant for bees came forth when I realized I’m reading my third book, or is it my fourth, where bees are a main focus. I scampered to my Goodreads list to confirm this epiphany. Actually, make that seven books.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Lily is introduced to the world of bees when she find refuge with three beekeepers and she learns about the power of not only bees but of women.

The Bees by Laline Paul
The Bees is a creative tale of one bee, Flora 717, who is almost put to death for her lack of physical conformity but is spared and readers follow her rise from humble hive janitor to respected forager.

The Music of Bees by Eileen Graven
Three people with deep hurts are brought together through the caring of bees.

He Should of Told the Bees by Amanda Cox
A daughter working with her beekeeper is devastated when he passes away since impacts their business, and the hurt is even more deep upon the discovery she has a half-sister who wants to sell her interest in the business.

Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar
This middle grade novel features twelve year old Carol who unexpectedly finds herself helping her parents care for her grandfather who is slipping into dementia. A touch of magical realism as he believes the drought will end when the bees return.

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King
Sherlock Holmes has retired, passing his days with keeping bees. His interest in mystery is awakened upon the arrival of a young woman who rivals his intuition and maybe even his intellect.

The Keeper of Bees by Gene Porter-Stratton
A classic that is as beautiful in prose as it is rife with politically incorrect references; however, ignoring those or at least placing them in the context of the era it was written, a reader will delight in how a physically, emotionally, and spiritually wrecked WWI soldier is healed through the unexpected experience of caring for an ailing man’s bees.

Are you a bee lover as well or have you read a book or two about bees? Please share the title, as I aim to keep on beeing a beeliver.