Bee Hotel

Yesterday was so warm that my daughter ended up spending most of her day outside.  It was wonderful and she had so much fun discovering all kinds of "gugs" (bugs) and other living things.  Her fascination with even just a simple ant gives me the time to stay on top of the weeds in our little gardens.  Of course it's too early to really get anything put in to the garden, but I'm starting to think about it.  One idea I just discovered is building a little "bee hotel".  Interestingly, mason bees do not live in hives.  When they hatch, the males and females mate immediately, the males die and the females each set off to build their own nest and lay their eggs.  Also interesting is that these bees are excellent pollinators and they only sting if they are squished.  Sounds like a perfect garden pet, so why not build a home to attract it?  Perhaps we'll try to fit that into our list of spring projects.  It helps too that this little project is almost as much a piece of art as anything...