The Denver Bee Hearing

It's not been quite a month since Denver City Council saw its way clear to pass an ordinance allowing for beekeeping. The proceedings creeped slowly through the November evening; finally after fours hours of ruminating the powers that be capitulated voting 10-2 in favor of the proposed beekeeping ordinance.

The council was addressed by sixteen adults and one spryly child all of whom spoke with clarity and affirmation concerning their beliefs as to why Denver should: allow, support, and encourage the keeping of honey bees.

The council volleyed back with, a garden variety of, concerns. What kind of person takes up such a hobby? How can we insure citizen safety? What happens if hives are left unattended?
Shouldn't we consider the Right of Use? I have a friend that's allergic, what about her?

The latter two questions, both of which were posed by the same councilperson, were interesting insomuch as the aforementioned councilperson conceded that yearly she plants vegetation specifically for attracting bees. One can easily ascertain that they're eating in her yard and housekeeping in mine. I wondered, as I sat fidgeting through the arduous process, is her allergic friend concerned for her own safety in this our elected officials' yard? Perhaps it is she that needs to post a warning sign of; hyssops twenty feet ahead, lavender at 9:00 o'clock, oh merciful Lord flowering trumpeter vine directly overhead, mint at your feet, poppies in your sights! All of which are colluding to nourish, perpetuate and attract the honey bee. Run for your life it's an urban garden!

You see, the bees are already here, albeit waning they are here.It may not seem possible but their symbiotic relationship with plants ensures our very existence.

They have a leading role, purely accidental, in the forever repeating life cycle of a plant and life on Earth as we know it: pollination, reproduction, the release of the oxygen we breathe, food we eat, shelter, most assuredly the blossoms at our festivals. Earth, this Biome we call home, will always be enslaved to the plant.