This was a lovely book about stepping back into nature and learning about our surroundings. Brigit Strawbridge Howard tells us all about her passion, bees, and how she became learning about them. The author focuses on solitary bees. These are bees that don't live in a hive. Instead each female bee builds her nest alone, and only meets males for mating.

I learned so many fascinating facts about bees, trees, environmental policies, and nature. Snail shell-nesting mason bees have to be my new favorite creature. These are solitary bees that find empty snail shells (often bleached white by the sun) to lay their egg- as in just one. They then fill the shell with pebbles and other detritus to prevent predators from reaching the egg, and thatch the shell with bits of dried grass and sticks. Can you think of anything more whimsical? I was fascinated!

It was a pleasure to step into Brigit Strawbridge Howard's world and discover the way she recommended with nature and built community around it.

We were outside playing last week when I saw about 5 honeybees all looking for drops of water to drink. My five year old is a little scared of bees so I was making a plan to teach her more about bees and find some childrens books about bees when I stumbled upon this book. It was a great education for me with loads of bee information that was new to me. I look forward to making some bee boxes to hang up in the woods next to our home for the solitary bees to make homes in!

While educational, this book was a bit on the dry side. Given the topic I wasn't surprised, just something to note. The author begins saying how little she knew about bees but later in the books she talks about her childhood and all the plants and herbs she loved and used. I think she is already starting with a great love and appreciation for nature. I do love books like this though, that remind me how important the natural world is for all of us. This was a perfect late winter book to read because I am so excited for all our spring flowers and spring planting that lies just around the corner!

The author was first driven to learn more about her native pollinators after the realization that she had been taught more about history than about the tiny insects we rely on for our survival. As she learned more about her bees, she realized that she knew little about any of the flora and fauna that she shared a patch of land, and a planet with. What follows is her delightful introduction to the wild, to the plants, animals and insects that she knew and loved as a child, but somehow lost touch with as she grew into an adult. The author’s joyful reunion with the wild is both beautiful and humbling