February in Georgia, where Aron and I now live, is a whole lot different than February in Indiana, where Aron and I both grew up. In Indiana, regardless of what Punxsutawney Phil said, we knew we still had to survive at least six more weeks of gray, dreary winter days before the first crocuses popped out of the ground to signal the beginning of spring.

In Georgia, we count on General Beauregard Lee to promise us an early spring, and, in fact, we are already starting our spring pruning and planting.

In the past when I heard someone mention “the birds and the bees”, my mind went to love and sex. Maybe it’s age, or maybe it’s the wisdom of age that turns those thoughts to the more literal “birds and bees” and wondering how our handling of the environment can affect their very survival.

Saving the Bees

Albert Einstein has been quoted as saying, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left.”  When I first heard that, I was astounded, and a little frightened. I am sooooo happy to report that according to such sites as  Snopes, Forbes, Quote Investigator, and the National Resources Defense Council, (1) there is no evidence that Einstein ever said that, and (2) it’s simply not true.  Yes, if all of the bees disappeared, we would notice significant changes in crops, plants, and trees. Our food supply would certainly be affected, but we would not starve to death in the near future. We would find ways to adapt.

Rather than adapt to a world without bees though, it seems wiser to try to understand what we might do to save bees from extinction. The Friends of the Earth website offers the following ideas:

• Grow a bee friendly garden
• Give ‘em a little sugar
• Don’t forget the water
• Only purchase sustainable honey
• Don’t use any synthetic pesticides in your lawn and garden
• Skip weeding your garden
• Buy organic
• Push your grocery retailer to get toxic pesticides out of the supply chain
• Educate your children and grandchildren about bees

Visit the Friends of the Earth website to learn more about their suggestions.

One of our neighbors has several bee hives, and she keeps the neighborhood residents supplied with wonderful fresh local honey. She asks that we let her know when we are planning to use pesticides. Although we are several houses away from her hives, the wind can carry the pesticides, which could be deadly to her bees. She can take precautions to protect them if she knows to do so.

The yellow jasmine on our pergola in the back yard is already starting to be visited by her bees. One day soon we will be able to walk around it and hear thousands of buzzing bees doing their thing.

We have learned that rather than cutting down our banana trees and other foliage after the first frost, we need to leave it in place until we have at least five days in a row above 50 degrees. This gives bees a wild habitat to enjoy during cold winter weather. Where we live, in central Georgia, that means sometime in February we can start trimming for spring.

Saving the Birds

In addition to changes in the bee population, we are experiencing a worldwide loss of birds. The American Bird Conservancy reports that the world has lost 3 billion breeding birds in the last 50 years. Amazingly, a billion birds die each year in the U.S. and Canada by flying into glass windows (WikiHow). Billions more are killed by domestic and feral cats (CornellLabs).

In an 18-minute WikiHow video, How to Save Birds, Biologist “Adventure Ed” shares 12 ways to help save the birds. I have listed just some of the main ones here but I recommend you watch the entire video:

1. Reduce pesticide use—birds need insects to live.
2. Reduce use of plastics—birds die from eating plastic.
3. Create bird habitats—birds love fruit trees and safe nesting areas.
4. Feed the birds—it can get expensive, but it’s worth it to hear and see the birds.
5. Keep cats inside.

We maintain several bird feeders with sunflower seeds, suet cages with dried millworms and regular suet, and hummingbird feeders with non-colored sugar water. When grandkids come to visit, they enjoy filling the feeders and watching the birds too.

Over the years, we have learned that squirrels love bird seed, so we have had to invest in squirrel-proof bird feeders. SquirrelBuster feeders and suet cages by Brome are the ones we have ended up buying. They seem insanely expensive; however, the bird seed that was being devoured by squirrels was absolutely more expensive in the long run—they could clean out a feeder in just a few hours! And I’ll never forget the time I found one of my little suet cages in the middle of the street–carried off toward the woods by a determined squirrel–or possibly a raccoon.

In Summary

As Honeyboomers, we are into the birds and the bees—both the “make love not war” kind and the kind that fly around in our yard. Although humans won’t immediately die out if bees go extinct, it’s not that hard to follow a few practices mentioned in this blog to help save the bees. And, while we are saving the bees, just a little more effort will help save the birds as well. Who doesn’t want more fauna and flora to beautify our surroundings?