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A Sting in the Tale
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Just wondering if anyone else is reading this book and what they think. I gave it a good try, but decided I couldn't get all the way through it. Goulson is a good writer, but maybe it was just a bit more detail on bumblebees than I cared to read right now. (Not that it isn't an important topic-quite the contrary.)
I finally started it today, through 90 pages. I love it. After the intro of his boyhood, I was worried it would be too technical. But I don't find it to be. His experiences with Tasmania, invasive species, research problems on bees . . I can't get enough. I love how he adds stories about his own life. Bees are more complex than I thought, and it is answering a couple of questions that I had from my own observations here at home.
(and I actually laughed outloud at his taxidermy stories)
I did too, Andree! And I am jealous of his childhood. I am enjoying the details as well as his gift for storytelling and humor.
Finally, my review. This was way better than I even expected.We live on the side of a mountain and have a brook running close to the back door. On the opposite side of the brook is a steep hill where blackberry, raspberry, native honeysuckle, birch, apple, tamarack and maple grow. What we didn't know was that there was a bumble bee nest in the hill, also. An animal dug up the nest two weeks ago, while I was reading this book. Whatever dug up our nest was not a bear (the excavation was too small and it was too close to the house), so we couldn't figure out what it was. Because of this book, we now think it was raccoon. Goulson talks of how UK badgers love to dig up bee nests, but there are no badgers here. Badgers are related to weasels so we surmised our digger was weasel, mink or fisher cat. But in another chapter, Goulson mentioned that UK weasels don't dig up nests. That left us with fisher cats, skunks or raccoons. Fisher cats won't come this close to the house unless desperate. Skunks have not lived here for years since the raccoons came. And talking to others, we have narrowed our thief down to raccoon.
I have photographs of the ransacked nest but I hope the bees find a nest site there next year. Now I understand their life cycle and how delicate the balance is between the bumble bees and our wildflower fields. I have learned how to encourage the succession of more of our wildflowers. I will follow the early queens that I see on our back road next spring as they search for a nesting site. I will take more time to sit and observe the comings and goings of the three native species of bumble bees that we have here. I want to learn to find nests.
Goulson is a skillful writer. His narrative and descriptive writing are very engaging. I laughed and even cried at one point. The forward to the book, describing Goulson's life when he was a boy, was the best part of the book. The saddest parts are those where he vividly compares that world to our world now, with devastated and fragmented habitats.
I am so thankful to be able to live in a large rural area with bears, moose, bobcats, deer, turkeys and all manner of birds, fowl and invertebrates. I am blessed and will never take it for granted that this will last forever. It needs to be protected and cherished. There are already huge pressures on the land from development and a poor economy.
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Excellent comments Andree. Goulson is a very talented writer indeed. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I have just reserved his next one from the library.
I forgot to add the other most important thing about his book (for me): Bernd Heinrich, whose research is mentioned prominently. He is a UVM bee researcher, a favorite Vermont nature author. Yet I have never read his bee books.
Paul: which one did you reserve?
He has written a book about his French experiences with his meadow:http://www.amazon.com/Buzz-Meadow-Nat...
aahhh! the one I put on my wish list.
Thanks for liking my review too!
Thanks!