Today over at Lost in Translation, Paula’s Thursday’s Special theme is minuscule, which is a word I often have problems spelling because it comes in two versions, and that then leads me to make up my own. Anyway, I instantly thought of pollen grains, which made me think of bees, and of the small busy world of pollen gathering that goes on all spring and summer, mostly unnoticed by us humans. And so since I believe we cannot think of bees too much or too often, given the valuable work they do for us, here’s another bee snap.
I am also grateful to Pauline at Memories Are Made of This, who in today’s post also has bees on her mind, for reminding me a few a weeks ago in one of her comments that Granny’s Bonnets is another name for columbines or aquilegias. So there you have it – bumble bee in my Granny’s Bonnets, but not in my actual bonnet, although my other half would often beg to differ on that statement.
copyright 2015 Tish Farrell
Tish Farrell 
A lovely photo and some clever word-play; perfect!
Thank you for the link Tish I see your busy bumbling bees are at it again… and your remark about the spelling sent me scurrying back to my post to check my spelling and yes, I had spelt it differently. So I thought I would check it out (aren’t we so lucky to live in this computer age when all it takes is the click of a key…) This is what I found.
Usage Discussion of MINISCULE
“The adjective minuscule is etymologically related to minus, but associations with mini- have produced the spelling variant miniscule. This variant dates to the end of the 19th century, and it now occurs commonly in published writing, but it continues to be widely regarded as an error”… I live and learn even at my advanced stage of the third generation…
It is just amazing how many new things one can learn in a day. I think I’m suffering from brain overload. I’m not sure that human evolution has caught up with/adapted us to receive quite so much interweb effluvia in one day. Interesting though 🙂
The brain, at least my brain, definitely hasn’t evolved to cope, and I find I forget just the most simple and basic every day words and often at the most embarrassing time…
Oh yes. The retrieval system is often like a locked filing cabinet. The word is in there SOMEWHERE. Recently I’ve adopted the 20 questions approach – it looks like, rhymes with, reminds me of…Duh!
Oh yes and don’t forget! going through the alphabet sometimes jogs the old brain cells, especially with names (Er now I think it was TTT…) Tish… LOL
😀
Thanks, Pauline – I have always used miniscule, now I know the error of my ways…… (And I thought I was hot on spelling!! )
I thought I was too Sue… 😦 Mind you spell check does help!!!!
I never use spellcheck! How arrogant is that!! 🙂
Well it can be wrong or not know what you are talking about… 🙂
I always remember a university librarian friend telling me that when he was preparing student notes, his computer kept changing postgrads to postcards. Yikes!
Haha I like it!!!!
This is so lovely, Tish 🙂 And I thought I was the only one that had problems with min-i/u-scule.
Thank you, Paula, and also to Pauline for giving us the gen on the spelling variarions.
Hear, hear!
Another beautiful image….and Tish my spelling is quite creative at times…and so I would never know the difference:)
Super bee photo. I had to look it up in the dictionary as I wanted to type miniscule.
I spend a lot of time in my dictionary these days. One seems to forget how to spell in blogland 🙂
There are so many Englishes. 🙂
I’m a ‘mini’ mis-speller but even with ‘minus’ it’s a double diminuitive as that is what cule is in latin. Anyway bees in bonnets or knickers in a twist – long live the pollinators though alas there is a new downy mildew disease attacking columbines . My bet is the old granny bonnet varieties will be hardier!
I heard about the aquilegia disease. Mine all grow themselves, and were especially prolific this year (a promiscuous plant I think given all the variations now arrived in my garden). But like you, I’m hoping that the feral kind are ferally robust. Grr. Take that you downy mildew, you!
Beg to differ indeed. Something rattled your cage, Miss T? 🙂
I never worry too much about spelling as Spellcheck takes care of any dyslexic idiosyncrasies I may have. The ‘I, e’ thing for believe often creeps in.
Don’t know if we have these flowers over here?
Though I expect we do, as Colonials brought pretty much a piece of everything at one point, but we do not have them at our spot.
I must check my nursery.
Come to think of it my cage is always a bit rattled. Or is that raddled. 🙂
You’re so good at capturing minisyool critters Tish (had to invent my version) !
I like that word, Gilly 🙂
Stunning colors, Tish. The way you captured the bee in your photo is wonderful. 😎
Thank you, Isadora.
Bee autiful. I only knew these plants as Granny’s Bonnets until a few years ago when I figured out they were also called columbines. But here’s a question. Does Granny have more than one bonnet? Or should we write Grannies’ Bonnets? Or Granny’s Bonnet, or be modern and forget the apostrophe?
That was too many questions abount bonnets, Ann. I still have my sleeping cap on 😀
Not a sleeping bonnet?
😀
I was explaining the importance of bees to my son last night. I love this post. Have a lovely peaceful week Tish. 🙂
Have a good week too, Nomzi. I like to think of you talking of bees to your son 😀
Thank you dear. You can imagine. 😀
Those wings!