Stone Mountain Yellow Daisies and Healthy Honey Bees

~Doc Lawrence

A Heathy Honey Bee and a Beautiful Robust Daisy

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA-Change is a constant of life. We hope that at its worst, it's inconsequential and more commonly beneficial. Take the very rare Stone Mountain Yellow Daisy, beautiful beyond description and only growing here on and near the great granite monolith. One local who walks the mountain up and down barefooted (the way native Americans did), says the yellow flowers are spectacular this year. "They are much larger and brighter," observed Stephen Thomason, a certified Permaculture Instructor and Consultant. And, that's not all: "The honey bees found on the daisies are fat and healthy, free of life-threatening mites. This is a new and hopeful development."

What this means, says Thomason, is that the healthier flowers and bees are prospering because they are "free from harmful chemicals and environmental poisons." Will this positive development continue? "I sure hope so," he replied. "Science has identified much of what is decimating honey bees," he said, "and whenever there is the slightest improvement in their condition, there's hope. You allow honey bees to be destroyed and you've destroyed much of the country's food supply."

Fields of Yellow Daisies on Stone Mountain

Thomason took professional-grade photos of the fields of yellow on the mountain and had no trouble finding honey bees eager to pose for a moment of fame and glory.

Walking the mountain barefoot may not be for everybody, he cautions. The practice was recommended  by his friend Howard Bigsby, a lifelong resident of Stone Mountain's historic Shermantown community with Blackfoot Indian and African-American ancestry.

 Natural Beauty is Omnipresent

"There are some healing benefits in walking the mountain barefoot," Thomason said, "and maybe I wouldn't have seen the honey bees with shoes on."











NOTE: Stephen Thomason may be contacted at: stephenthomason@rocketmail.com
All images by Stephen Thomason.

The Walking Trail Begins Here