Mackenzie in the Garden With Bees

As I failed to mention, Monta finished her mosaic, Mackenzie in the Garden With Bees. (Try singing this title to the tune of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds".) I am quite taken by this work of art. It so captures Mackenzie's " live-and-let-live" attitude toward our bees, besides being so beautiful. Monta told me a photo of this mosaic was used in some Winona tourism materials this month.

MacKenzie In the Garden With Bees

Last summer I wrote a bit about my cat MacKenzie who died under mysterious circumstances. MacKenzie, as some of you might remember, was my assistant beekeeper; he simply loved following me into Beelandia where he would sit with me and watch the bees' comings and goings. My partner Monta is now working a mosaic to memorialize Mackenzie. On her blog, you can follow this work in progress.

Mackenzie the Beekeeper

On the evening of June 1st, one of our cats, Mackenzie ran off. Today, we discovered that Mackenzie was found dead by a neighbor a few days afterwards.

Mackenzie was unlike any cat I've ever met. In some ways, his relations to humans were more dog-like than feline. He loved jumping into people's arms, wrapping his paws around their neck, and snuggling. When I worked at home, he was my shadow, sitting next to me at the computer, or at the dining room table. He found a new passion this spring: beekeeping. He loved to follow me outside and into Beelandia, not to annoy or antagonize the bees, but to sit on my lap in front of a hive and watch the bees' comings and goings. Even his first sting didn't deter Mackenzie from joining me in the bee yard. (He happened to step on a bee while running to sit with me!)

I do regret not getting a photo of "Mac" helping me at work with the bees. I will miss him.

(This photo was taken by our son, Gareth.)