Well, rats.

It is dry, dry here. Enough to hurt the crops, and to bring honeybees lingering around our water sources outdoors. These bees seem congenial enough. I walked through them to turn on a faucet just yesterday.

Today they're buzzing around a shallow puddle on the patio.

I was stung the other day working around one of the raised beds. I happened to put my hand atop one that had settled on the wall. It stung right at the base of my pinkie. I am not allergic to bee venom, so have suffered just a little discomfort.

But they do die after stinging, and that leaves us one less bee.