It had been a good day in the garden.  I had gotten to spend six hours working in the back yard.  Digging up some of the garlic chives in the raised bed had allowed me to plant a tomatillo and African blue basil.  I had finally gotten the chance to plant out six one gallon plants, some of which had been waiting patiently on my patio since late fall.  Most of them were succulents, but there was a miniature rose and asparagus fern, the foxtail type, in the mix.

I had also trimmed up some overhanging fronds on the Podocarpus so the chairs I had placed underneath could actually be used. All in all, I felt productive and had reveled in being outside surrounded by greenness and vitality.

One last task was to pick some Calla ‘Green Goddess' blossoms to refresh an arrangement.  As I surveyed the clump to see what I would pick, I noticed one blossom seemed dark in the center.  As I leaned in closer I saw a spider and a honey bee, Apis mellifera.  The bee wasn't moving but I wasn't sure about the spider.  I have seen small dead insects in the center of callas before; I've assumed they have fallen in and couldn't climb back out.  I gently inserted a pencil tip into the blossom to see what would happen.  The spider was definitely alive and withdrew.

So the scene was as it appeared, a spider had caught the bee.  What had been an idyllic day in the garden for me, had been a most unfortunate one for the bee.