Victory in the Garden

If you like squash, you have a bee to thank.

Without bees, no pollination. Without pollination, no squash.

Honey bees in California pollinate some 100 agricultural crops, including fruits, nuts and vegetables. One of them is squash.

When a squash blossom burst open last weekend in our garden, a honey bee buzzed inside, shadowed by a carpenter bee.

The carpenter bee chased off the honey bee, but not for long. The honey bee returned to roll in the pollen, victorious.

A victory in the garden. Does that make it a victory garden?

Probably.