I was out working Sunday near my ceanothus bush, aka California lilac, when I heard a buzz that sounded like a roar.

Dozens of bumble bees and other insects were making a racket gathering nectar. I feared there was going to be a noise complaint soon when a neighbor walked by and said to his wife, "Holy #@!&, did you hear that?"

Here's the sad thing: there wasn't one single honey bee among all those winged insects.

If you haven't heard about the mysterious die-off of the honey bee happening all over the world read this msn story.

Scientists are at a loss to explain the disappearance but lately a virus has been suspected. There have been all sorts of weird theories, none of which I'll give credence to here.

I raised bees as a kid when I was in 4-H and if you can develop a fondness for an insect I have it for bees. But more importantly, bees are a crucial pollinator for crops worldwide.

We can only hope the honey bee will recover. In the meantime, my ceanothus doesn't seem to be lacking winged fans. The photo at left shows my variegated shrubby dogwood invading the ceanothus' personal space.