Bumblebees make their yearly debut in early spring when they emerge from hibernation. These individuals are not only some of the first bumblebees to stretch their wings; they are the queens.
On the south side of Chicago, I walked across snow-covered sand on an icy lakeshore. The ice that had formed where water met beach lowly creaked as water moved underneath it. The winter day was cold, but, thankfully, there was a lack of wind whose harshness would have only been magnified by traveling across Lake Michigan.