Of Baseball And Bees

The Twins picked up half a game in the standings yesterday by being rained out. Those make-up games are going to be killer later in the season. IF the Twins are still in the chase at the end, all those make-up games (5 already) are going to kill the bullpen.

I still think that if a professional team can't provide a domed stadium for their teams, the home team should forfeit every single game they can't play because of weather. We aren't living in the 1900's any more.

Onto other matters. Most people have heard that bee populations are shrinking across the world. I have no way of verifying that, and I rarely trust "experts" who make those claims. (Most experts who say such things, in whatever field they happen to be an expert in, have a political/ monetary agenda that benefits their perspective. Rarely do you have unbiased experts and observers.) BUT let's just say the experts are right this time, and there really is a "Bee Crisis". Where have all the bees gone?

Several theories are out there, ranging from pollution to global warming. Even the intense urbanization of the planet. BUT what if it was something much simpler? My own observations show me something in every neighborhood in Sleepy Eye.

Lawn care.

When I was a kid, everybody had dandelions. They were everywhere. You didn't worry about them if they were in your yard because EVERYBODY had them in their yard. Oh, sure their were a few scattered families around town that used all sorts of chemicals to give them a fresh green weedless, look, but for the most part, Sleepy Eye was town of dandelions.

We lived right next to the football and baseball fields in town and we played ball there every day for hours at a time. Those local ball fields were filled with dandelions as well. And there was one thing we always had to watch out for when we were playing: BEES!  They were everywhere, too. Especially early in the season when the dandelions were out.

My theory? American adults are so prideful of their lawns now that dandelion populations are practically non-existant. AND with no dandelions to feed on, bee populations have suffered greatly.

In the spring, when gardeners have just started planting their flowers and full blooming flowers are still sometimes weeks away, dandelions provide the bee population with all the spring flowers they need until summer flowers were in full bloom.

The few people who have dandelions still in their yards are keeping the bee populations from dying out completely. They are the new environmental warriors protecting the planet from ecological catastrophe. The bee populations ARE suffering. Most estimates say they are down by 50% or more in just the last decade alone. Those people who steadfastly refuse to put chemicals on their lawn are the only people keeping the bee populations alive.

When you scan a sea of yellow in our lawn each day as you drive by, you can silently thank me.

You're welcome.