<p style="text-align:center;"><em>by Guest Blogger Chicken Wrangler Sara</em></p>
Our son usually mows the lawn but he has suffered a shoulder injury requiring surgery. Now Beekeeper Brian mows the lawn.

The back yard had become quite a jungle so I know mowing was difficult. It would not have been surprising if Beekeeper Brian missed a spot. However, when I looked out the window, this is what I saw:

<a href="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/thistle.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4626" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/thistle.jpg?w=278" alt="thistle" width="278" height="300" /></a>A giant weed, obviously left intentionally, which caused me to wonder two things:

What was the plant?

And why was it left?

When Beekeeper Brian told me it was thistle, I immediately thought of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. He ate thistles. My first thought was <em>Oh no we’re getting a donkey!</em>

Beekeeper Brian quickly explained that bees also like thistle, and he wants to keep the bees happy.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I did not want another animal to have to feed.  Chickens, quail, and dogs are enough and the bees take care of themselves.