The Secret Lives of Mason Bees; Saturday, Oct. 1; Noon

Wendell Berry Community Garden; 928 Wilson St. NE; Olympia

Ah, mason bees: the perfect pollinator.  You build or buy a nest block, get a few bees, and they go right to work making your garden thrive!  They work inside the nest holes, placing food and eggs, and in the fall you harvest a much larger number, right?  Well . . . maybe.  Depending on the weather, mites, flower timing, bee-eating birds (never thought of birds as evil, did you?), parasitic wasps, mice, spiders, cocoon snatching flickers (more evil birds!), and—well, you get the picture.  It’s a hard life, and we’ll examine it all when we harvest the cocoons from the community garden.  Hope to see you there!  Please walk, bike or carpool when possible.  For more information:  Stephanie Johnson, 943-4596.