Here are a series of shots of a bumblebee’s sucking nectar and traveling around the flowers. I enjoy examining the bee’s positions in each shot. If this was a video, it would be harder to distinguish the different positions. So it is nice to take a pause to examine how they move.

This musical composition was written to depict the chaotic and rapidly changing flying pattern of the Bumblebee.

Wikipedia’s reference to The Flight of the Bumblebee

YouTube track of The Flight of the Bumblebee

It is pretty amazing how the wings flex in different angles and spread in interesting shapes. I would never have noticed the wing patterns of the bumblebee without these photographs. I used 1/8000 of a second shutter speed to try to freeze the action. The still frames display their remarkable wing span which is unexpected. Seeing the wings span larger for a small creature shows how they can fly in interesting patterns.

The chaotic and rapidly changing flying pattern of the Bumblebee is an analogy of our current times. We live in chaotic times with this pandemic. The rules keep changing of what we should do to keep safe. We are wondering when we qualify to get a vaccine. We were searching to see how as home caregivers to my mother-in-law, it would be possible to get vaccinated. Every vaccine site has different requirements or no requirements. Some of my aunties waited hours on the phone attempting to get an appointment. It is a little maddening trying to figure out how to get a vaccine.

We live in rapid change. It’s been one year since my wife was told in her office to pack up her laptop and work from home. She was concerned about focusing on work from home. But she learned to adapt and enjoy working from home. There is a lot of multi-tasking. But it helps to keep her sharp. Now the surroundings around her office are filled with tents and more homeless people. She’s afraid to return to the office due to the recent Asian assaults. She does not want to walk to the office from the bus. It has not been determined what management will decide about returning to the office. So much has changed during this one pandemic year. It boggles our minds thinking about all the events from the past year.

Crime is on the increase. In our neighborhood at the local grocery, someone tried to carjack a 75 year old woman in the parking lot. On Nextdoor.com, many neighbors regularly report about garage break-ins. It is alarming the number of racial attacks occurring. It is unnerving how we need to keep watching our backs when we go outside.

How do we deal with chaos and the constant change in our world? Do we look a little like this bee?

Maybe the clue is to go after the sweetness. The bee is flying crazy going after her sweet nectar.

In the midst of chaos, can we create sweetness in life?

Recently my aunt passed away unexpectedly. My wife and I went thru my old digital picture files and created a video for my aunt’s family and my relatives. Due to COVID-19, we did not gather for a funeral. So we thought this was a good way to grieve and also give sweetness to the family.

Give and create sweetness for others and yourself!

Photos teach us to change chaos into sweetness!

As per my last post, apparently bumblebees lose wing parts due to old age. This is an interesting photograph with the bee proceeding to the flower as she loses 2 wing pieces. Those wing fragments have a nice curvature and style as they float away from the bee.

It is pretty amazing my discovery of the different bee poses and characteristics. This bee still looks more interesting with the 2 wing parts flying in the background. The bee looks stress free, even though her wing parts are detached and flying away.

During this pandemic, everyone has experienced stress. Perhaps for many of us, this past year could be the most stressful period we’ve faced. Not only is there the stress of getting COVID-19 or someone in our family getting infected, but our country has experienced racial and political unrest. There have been bad meteorological storms which caused losses to certain parts of the country. There is major economic consequences due to COVID-19. There is increased crime due to a variety of circumstances.

This pandemic stress has bothered me. But when I review my photographs, I forget about the stress and focus on the bees, birds and butterflies. I want to emulate their carefree attitude. In reality, our stressful feelings will not benefit our life. Stress causes health problems. Stress makes us feel uncomfortable and worried.

Looking at this photographs is a good reminder to recognize our problems and deal. But we do not need to worry or allow stress to control us. The carefree bee is not worried about a couple of missing wing parts. We just need to remember the Creator of the bee is also watching over me. I just need to work at what I am called to do.

I do occasionally lose it and get upset over things that are not really important. It is not a pretty sight. So I hope I can be reminded that I need to seek to care “less” because I have a God who is caring for me.

Let’s not lose it and make a bad scene. Let’s understand loss with less stress and care!

Photos teach about losing it with style!

This hungry Bumblebee was busy flying and landing on our new Spanish Lavender plant in our yard. In the prior pictures, the poor bee looks like part of her wing flew off. But it did not seem to be a big problem, since she secured herself on this flower and enjoyed a good sweet meal.

Photographing bees allows me to observe their behavior and characteristics. I never studied bees until now. Apparently old age happens to all creatures. Bumblebees also get old and wear out their wings over time. See the article below if you are interested in reading about wing wear in bumblebees.

Journal of Experimental Biology – What causes wing wear in foraging bumble bees?

Getting older is a part of all life. Life is constant change. Once upon a time, I could eat a lot of food, and burn the consumed calories. I could run and play sports. Now I don’t run or play sports due to minor aches and pains. Walking is the best exercise which hopefully will not cause injury. Hopefully, I will not be losing any limbs to prevent my mobility.

The loss of the wing piece did not slow down this bee. It looks like the bee enjoyed the flower nectar, and flew away.

This bee is teaching me about resilience. Determination to find a way to function and succeed when we are challenged with physical pain or losses is a challenge faced by all. I hope I can learn from this bee with the loss of part of a wing to accept my losses, but proceed to achieve my goals.

My sympathy to this bee for her wing loss. I applaud her flight to her next meal and to continue on her journey.

Photos teach resilience.