Beacon July 2023

July 2023 THE BEACON Page 9B
Bees on the bleachers.
Cuz’s robin hatchling.
GREENDALE
By
Linda
Cromer
Community
Correspondent
greendale@goBEACONnews.com
Psst... over here. Time we
talked about the birds and the
bees.
It’s that exciting season
again – Greendale pool
is now open for all, but
cannon-balling birds took
the first plunge. Undeterred
by countless attempts at
plugging the water pipes on
O
ur
Beekeeper Muncy to the
rescue.
the slide, relentlessly nesting
birds sacrificed their recently
hatched offspring to the thrill
of the ride. Extreme sport in
the extreme; a moment of
silence would be appropriate.
Gifted girl athletes and
their families gathered in
Oakey Park just weeks ago for
softball practice and found as
much action in the bleachers as
on the field. A queen bee of the
honey variety decided to hang
out on the corner of the bottom
row of bleachers and brought
her swarming ball with her.
To their great credit,
onlookers kept a respectful
distance and watched,
entranced, after Park Board
members contacted a
beekeeper to move the living,
buzzing bee-ball to a new
home. What an amazing
thing to see as beekeeper Jeff
Muncy coaxed the bees into a
carrier box for safe relocation.
One might say bees are getting
their buzz on throughout
the city. Greendale resident
Ron Eckstein got the go-ahead
to site a constructed bee hive
in our thriving community
garden. Sited in an out-of-the-
Communities
way corner and with appropriate
signage in place to alert
gardeners and visitors, the
hive perfectly represents the
spirit of cooperation that’s
part of the culture in our great
community. A beautiful location,
an amazing learning opportunity,
and busy workers in service to
the greater good. SWEET!
A town tour shows
Greendale residents are
planting pollinator-friendly
plants in ever-greater numbers.
Garden Club Secretary-
Treasurer Valla Sears reports
spring plant sales leaned
heavily toward Lantana in a
rainbow of colors; delightful
for the bees and butterflies
flitting about as well as for
appreciative passers-by
green with garden envy.
Several homeowners chose
to participate in the national
“No Mow May” movement
to provide food for earlyarriving
pollinators. Consider
being part of this growing
environmental initiative by
accessing more information at
www.beecityusa.org.
Honey bees aren’t the
least bit interested in you as
long as you go about your
business and let them go
about theirs. Not so for some
other critters. That includes
a robin who dive bombs any
unwitting victim walking up
our driveway near her nest in
a trellised honeysuckle vine
scaling the house.
That nest is a disgrace to the
avian community at large and
has been for over a decade -
rebuilt by a succession of redbreasted
birdbrains in the same
spot with a loose tangle of
twigs and a que sera attitude.
Baby robins can be counted on
every year to fall out and raise
a ruckus loud enough to attract
the predation of a vile parade
of neighborhood cats. Circle
of life my hind end.
All of which leads me to
confessing my shameless
appropriation of my next-door
neighbor’s blood relation.
While I could and should
address said gentleman as Mr.
Rouse, or Michael, or even
the perhaps-too-familiar Mike,
I salute this stellar human
being, garden guru, and keen
observer of the natural world
simply as ‘the Cuz’. I have
had to eat my hyperbolic
words about the general nestbuilding
lassitude of robins
upon seeing the photos taken
by the Cuz of “his” robin’s
nest and nestlings. I suspect
you’ll agree the bird in
question hired a contractor.
The birds and bees are busy
all around us. Let’s not get too
busy ourselves to enjoy the
show.
HOURS
MON—FRI 8:30—5:30
SAT 8:30—1:00
We buy used cars—call
for pricing!!
800.245.2886
NOW OPEN ON SATURDAY FOR SCRAP
AND AUTO PARTS 8:30am — 1:00pm
Check out current scrap prices!
Need a part—go to www.miamitownautoparts.com and “Search our Inventory”
Cincinnati, Ohio
513-451-1134 513-574-9518
Fireworks!
July 4 TH
Greendale Park at Dusk
July 4 TH EVENTS
FISHING DERBY
9 A.M.
Schnebelt Pond
BIKE & GOLF CART PARADE
5K RACE
INFO at cityofgreendale.net
CITY OF GREENDALE
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