2023's bumper crop of native flowers brought a lot of new visitors. We were so happy to welcome them to our gardens.
One of our most prestigious visitors in 2023 was the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis). It's the official Minnesota State Bee and it is endangered. Part of the reason we started this project was to offer habitat for this specific bumble bee species. There will be many more exciting photos and stories to follow. Twenty-three was also the year that I got serious about my iNaturalist.org membership. It has been an incredibly helpful resource! I encourage you to join if you're interested in the world around us and want to learn more about what you find.
