Unter den Linden 23 June 2011 10.15pm.
This morning ‘Dog’ and I go to the Park between the showers; it’s quiet and damp again. The lime trees in the avenue are now in full flower; you can smell them and you can hear them, bees and bumblebees busy in the blossoms. The tiny flowers are pale creamy white, fringed, in little groups of twos and threes making a cluster, hanging down under the leaves. Before they open they are like tight little balls. In many parts of Europe, an infusion is made from them, known for its relaxing and calming effects; the French call it ‘tilleul’ and the Germans, ‘Lindenblutentee’.
For beekeepers, a lime tree nearby is a boon because the flowers are highly scented and rich in nectar. In recent years, many bee colonies have suffered catastrophic collapse; in some part due to Varroa mites and to the excessive use of nicotine-based pest controls. Bees can fly up to 55,000 miles in their short lives; but they travel only around 3 miles from their own hive; so it is no wonder we refer to them as ‘busy’. We all know that bees pollinate flowers – a process which is essential for food production; Einstein asserted that if ‘bees disappeared from the surface of the earth, mankind would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination…’ Serious.
My father kept bees for many years; country wisdom has it that ‘Bees only stay for a good man’ as they are sensitive to vibrations and atmosphere! When I was a child, I liked to see him don his white bee-keeping clothes and mysterious protective head gear when he made his inspections; he would put corrugated paper into the ‘bee smoker’ and light it so that it smoldered, puffing out smoke to calm the bees before he opened the hives. After my father retired, my elder son used to help him with moving the hives and in the autumn they would remove the gathered honey, spinning it out of the wax from rectangular frames placed fan-like in a cylindrical drum. A proportion of the honey harvest is left to sustain the bees through the winter. Much as I love honey, I still regret the plunder.
This afternoon I walk with ‘Dog’ near our house and become aware of a light fragrance in the air. Honeysuckle? No. I look up; we are walking under lime trees that I haven’t noticed before.
SummerStarfield 