Bettie finally joins the bee count!

I read an article in the Merc about a "citizen scientist" project called "The Great Sunflower Project."

Actually, it's a study of urban bee populations, with participants all growing the same type of sunflower, Lemon Queens, then choosing a blossom and counting the number of bees who visit it during a 15 minute period starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday mornings.

I got a late start, and it's been a cool summer, but this week my sunflowers finally started popping blooms and this morning I did my first count. 4 bees on one flower in 15 minutes (a bit above average as it turns out).

Can't wait until next Saturday, when all the bees have found the flowers.

It's an amazingly gratifying experience. Here's a shot taken during the observation.