Indoor Bee, On Duty ššŗ
- OakvilleJoe
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
āI am a bee, and I pollinate.ā
Did I get your attention?
Two important parts of a flower are the anther and the stigma. The anther, part of the male stamen, produces and releases pollen. That pollen is then transferred to the stigma, the receptive tip of the female pistil, where fertilization can begin.
My blooming amaryllis is ready for pollination. I can see plenty of yellow pollen on the anthers, and the stigma has opened at the tip, ready to receive it.
So where are the bees, those tiny helpers designed to carry pollen from flower to flower? In April, with single-digit temperatures, there is not a bee in sight ā and certainly none flying around indoors.
No problem. A āgigantic beeā is ready for hand pollination.
Using my index finger, I gently touch the pollen on the anthers and then transfer it to the stigma of a neighbouring flower, cross-pollinating it rather than returning it to the same bloom.
If all goes well, fertilization will take place. In time, seeds will form, and later they can be harvested and planted to begin a new generation of amaryllis. Hope I did a good bee job.
Interestingly, around the same time, I watched a video about the āmilk and honeyā of the Promised Land described in Exodus. The speaker shared a simple story: he saw a classmate stirring a cup of milk and asked what he was doing. The classmate replied that he had added honey to it. That small moment stayed with him, especially during a week when they were reflecting on Godās promise of a land flowing with milk and honey.
Indoor Bee, On Duty ššŗ
So after serving as an indoor bee, perhaps it is only fitting that I reward myself with a cup of milk and honey.
Sometimes God lets us witness His quiet work up close ā in pollen, petals, seeds, and sweetness. The Lord who cares for the birds of the air also watches over the flowers, the bees, and the hidden processes of life unfolding before us. If He looks after them, great and small, how much more will He care for us?
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? -- Matthew Chapter 6, verse 26.
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