Ever since a friend of mine showed me the Bee Field in the Koponen Homestead trail system, I’ve put it on my summer to-do list. Sometimes I walk down the trails to and from, at other times I bike up to it on the Pasture Path, a gentle enough slope for my fitness level, yet bumpy enough with exposed roots to be interesting. While overcast and cool, today was the first non-rainy day in a succession of downpours.
My friend, her granddaughter, and I were going on a picnic!
I packed up my bike and pulled on a neon-yellow vest for the intersections and the stretch of road where there was no bike path. It was on this road that a car slowed, and the driver and small passenger waved and called my name. I grinned and waved back cheerfully.
“See you there!”
Would I beat them to the Bee Field?
As my distance was the shorter one, I did, which gave me time to tug off my outer layers and walk about to cool off from the ride and stare about in astonishment. What had happened to the Bee Field? Alder saplings from as tall as my knee to my waist poked up intermittently through the ground cover of dogwood.
It appears no one has mown the field this year, sadly. I hope there is someone in charge of doing so because it would be a shame to have the forest reclaim the area. The joy of this open space is the bees. When the dogwood blooms white, the air is full of humming, a delicious sound of focused productivity. The Bee Field was named for a reason. I wonder whose hives benefit from the nectar gathered here.
I really hope no one complained out of fear of a bee sting, prompting the neglect of the field’s care. The human does not have to encroach on the bees’ space and sustenance. Staying on the trail is enough to stay out of their way: even the curious bumblebee prefers blooms to skin. Or, the nervous human can stay off of this trail entirely. There are others just as beautiful.
Because of the obstructing slender trunks, we walked through the trees to the lower grassy field further down the hill. The ground rolled gently, the manicured grass verdant around the handful of solitary trees which would have thrown wonderfully cool shade on a hot sunny day.
Atop the adjacent gentle rise was the perfect backdrop to our picnic: a patch of tall fireweed all in the pink. We sunk onto the blankets we spread upon the grass and shared and nibbled our noonday meal. The little girl complained of crawling nature. We chatted and laughed. In moments of silent, we could hear the breeze in the treetops and the hum of the nearby bees. Eager for the blossoms’ ambrosial awards, the apian insects did not visit us, and we respected the margin of their angustifolium in turn.
Rested and well fed, we gathered up our items, checked that nothing had been left behind, and headed back up the gentle slope. The dirt path curved between the tall stately trunks. In the midst of the trees appeared a wooden bench, and, delightfully, an old-fashioned lamppost.
Today I found peaceful balance from picnicking with friends in a beautiful purlieu.
I was curious about the Bee Field’s care, so I contacted the Friends of the Koponen Homestead and received a very nice reply to my email. I learned how I can volunteer to help keep the space beautiful. I would like to share my enjoyment of the green space with you, while respecting that the area remains privately owned. I am a guest in their neighborhood each time I walk the trails and breath in the space.
Want to know more? Check out the website of the Friends of the Koponen Homestead: https://www.koponenhomestead.com/friends-of/.
