Garden Friends

The sunflower border is in full bloom, with multiple heads of gorgeous yellow and bronze sunshine flowers.  They are very popular with the bees, and have even attracted some honey bees--a rare sight in my garden this year.  I've got lots of mason bees and bumblebees and pollinator flies, but honey bees?  Very rare, sadly.  I was happy to catch this little girl enjoying the sunflower bloom this morning, she seemed so pleased to have this enormous flower head all to herself!

In addition to the insect and hidden animal life in the garden, I occasionally spot some larger friends.  Beezle likes to lounge in the shade of the sunflower border, until the day gets too hot and then he retires to the depths of the cornfield where the sun never reaches.  He's a funny old cat.  He is leery of strangers, and usually hides if anyone comes to visit.  He hates being indoors, even on the porch, and is happiest left to his own devices in the outdoors.  He's a cat's cat, I think, an enigma onto himself.

And then there is Jeffrey, a decidedly people friendly cat.  Him I usually find in the greenhouse or hoop house, napping in the heat, unless it's a warm day in which he'll tuck himself into the depths of the undergrowth in the garden.  This morning, he was happily curled into the far reaches of the cosmos hedge, and wouldn't come out for a head rub.  All I got was a soft meeew of hello, because he was too sleepy content to be bothered with any more excessive greeting.  I'm sure later he'll come calling through the open window, to see if he can convince me that he really, really does need a snack or a cuddle, or both.