On Feb 7, 7:47*am, beecrofter wrote:
On Feb 4, 1:53*pm, MajorOz wrote:



The ice has melted and the quarter million folks down the road almost
have all the power back on. *The sun is out and temps should go up to
50's and 60's in a day or so. *So, I am planning to get some clean-up
and prep work started.

What can I do to help out in bringing back some bees? *As I am inside
a national forest, there is no widespread spraying here'bouts, and my
neighbors and I don't use harsh stuff except as a last resort in very
small areas. *I don't want to KEEP bees, anymore than I keep bats,
even though I have mounted bat houses here and there.
I just want do do what might help.

Things I have considered is:
1. *After I have burned and disked some meadows, putting in some
clover, along with the other native grasses.
2. Leaning toward bee-friendly flowers when selecting annuals this
year.

Any other ideas?

cheers

oz, feverish from the cabin

Burning the meadows will likely decrease the numbers and types of bees
on your land as a diversity of plants ( weeds to some) that flower at
different times will promote the greatest numbers of bees. Leaving
some wild patches will protect your pollinators.

Thank you. That is the idea. My meadows were once a variety of
native grasses and wildflowers. My intent is to get rid of the
invasive fescue (a boon to the cattle producers, but death-on-wheels
to many critters -- principally quail) that has invaded.
These are small meadows in almost virgin hardwood forest inside a NF,
with brush piles and occasional red cedar and nearby year-round
water. Everything for the critters except decent ground cover.
My major intent is quail restoration and general wildlife habitat
improvement, but I have recently thought that there might be something
I could do ALONG WITH IT to help out the bee problem.

cheers

oz, watching the rain fill the pond