Several months ago I promised to take a picture of a local bumblebee. Sadly, the very next day our association’s gardeners pruned back the hedges around our lake where the bumblebees hung out. That was it for bumblebees.

But patience is a virtue, no? Irvine’s bumblebees may have flown off somewhere else, but Ireland still has plenty of them. When we got back from our trip to the Skellig Islands, Marian noticed this bush swarming with bumblebees, so I snapped off a few dozen shots. It may have taken a while, but thanks to the town of Portmagee you are finally getting your long-promised bumblebee.¹

¹This is assuming that some smart-aleck doesn’t come along to tell us that this isn’t really a bumblebee, just some kind of pseudo-orchid bee that looks like a bumblebee but is actually a member of the Fettucini family native to northern latitudes. I’ll wait.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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