Yesterday Tom and I decided to take an impromptu trip to Pondhawk - I almost didn't even go, but then made myself because I knew I needed to get out. I'm glad I did, because by total fluke chance when we were walking along the trail he happened to notice this massive beehive up in a tree. And the only reason he even spotted it was because he paused to look closer at some acorns on a low hanging tree branch....then continued looking upward and spotted this massive hive. !! 😲 Neither one of us have ever seen a real beehive in the wild before, so it was a first for both of us. I got pics and vids, but they weren't optimal, due to the fact it was dusk. Despite the 1080 quality of my camera things were still a little too grainy for my liking. So I went back today to get better vids and pics, when it was fully bright, and got lots of good captures. On the way back to the hive today on the trail I started wondering if I'd somehow missed it and walked past it....then started noticing random bees flying across the trail and off to my side, so I knew....I'm close. And sure enough it was right up ahead. In order to get the vids in this compilation (since it's difficult to stand and hold a weightier camera for long periods of time, keeping things steady, especially when zoomed in to the max, and not get major arm fatigue), I laid down on the cement trail with my head on my backpack, which maximized the steadiness. It was also cool because there were bees flying back and forth over me as I laid there, filming. They weren't concerned with me though, as honeybees are pretty docile anyway. But to be safe I had made sure to wear a black and white outfit, to not register on their radar. ;) What's interesting is that not one single person who walked past me even looked to see what I was laying there filming. Not one. !! They just walked past, obliviously. One lady was having a loud, nonstop conversation on her cell phone, not even looking at anything going on around her. O.o In the background you'll hear various things, including birds, but also corporate jets taking off at Boca Raton Municipal Airport, which is close by, the loud hum of traffic on I-95, which is also close by, and even a TriRail pulling into the train station. So this is a really nice patch of nature in the middle of a bustling urban area. On a more contemplative/higher note.......I marvel at this entire structure. I don't know how "simple" bees knew how to build a hive so that it becomes wedged perfectly in place between two ideally positioned tree branches like this. They must operate like birds, with the same capability to spot ideal locations for building their nests/hives. Though people don't normally think of insects of being on the same level as a bird, with that level of awareness. And then of course the way the hexagons on the honeycombs are always so perfectly uniform, in the same way birds build the most perfectly constructed nests and spiders weave the most crazy complex webs using two different types of silk. "Instinct" is an amazing thing........... 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯 🐝 🍯