Mason Bee nest

Mason Bees are an important early pollinator. They are a solitary bee and build nests our of clay. The nest is a series of chambers each containing paralyzed  orb web spiders and a single egg.

It is easy to make houses for these guys that can be moved into a dry winter spot to maximize hatching rates.

Pottery wheels

Christmas time.

We found two kick wheels for sale in town.
Now two people can make pots together.

The brickyard is a cool shady place to be in the heat of summer.

East cape road trip.

And the wind roared. And we played.
The official camp ground was too windy and a nice shepherd let us camp under a massive Pohutukawa tree.

The moon was full and I climbed the giant sand hills and watched the sunrise.

Underground bees

A beautiful campsite next to the beach.

A sleepless night was had by all in tents as the poor native bees tried to get out of their underground tunnels.

Drone Flies

At first I thought these guys were Bumble Bees.
But look at the size of their eyes!! They also only have one set of wings and their antennae are very different. They do a great job mimicking Bumble Bees but do not even have a sting.

These Narcissus Bulb flies are probably the only Drone flies I do not really want in my garden. They are mating next to my dafodil bulbs where they will lay their eggs. When the maggots hatch they will then eat the bulb, pupate and hatch into more Drone flies.

These ones have so much pollen on their shoulders I did not interfere.

Drone flies are the most amazing pollinators and they are amazing to watch fly as they are very agile.