Rolling the Vespa out of the garage into bright sun and 30 degree Fahrenheit air was a great way to start my commute to work. I left early to allow more time to negotiate any remaining snow, ice, or gravel, especially on less traveled secondary roads.
After a mile of picking my way between patches of slush and gravel I was ready to say hello to a pair of Belgian draft horses out enjoying the rapidly warming morning. Hello spring.
I made a quick stop at one of the local parks that does winter duty as a sled and toboggan run. School and work has drawn everyone away.
By the time I stopped to photograph this vista the Vespa’s ambient temperature indicator read 46 degrees. Had it not been for a long list of work assignments I would have kept riding all day.
I was headed to a facility that tests mushroom varieties to pick up a small collection for a photograph. The main road was clear but everything else was still a challenge for the sporty Pirelli tires.
Somewhere along the line of scooter ownership I learned that Vespa means wasp in Italian. Wasps are pollinators — like honeybees. So in a real stretch I’m connecting the Vespa with an article I wrote on Colony Collapse Disorder in honeybees. If you’ve are interested in what’s happening with bees you may want to take a look at this freshly published article. You can download a PDF version here —> Article on Colony Collapse Disorder in Honeybees
Steve,
Great photos, as usual, but the real spotlight must shine on that article! Very well done, young man!
If I recall, you told me before that you work at Penn State. Correct? Can you give us some details about your work efforts with Penn State Agriculture?
Brent
A delightful post! As I am watching the snow melt off of our lawn – I can only think about planting trees – and some day enjoying (perhaps a year from now) – fresh grown produce from a garden. I also love the draft horses at that farm. 🙂
I recent read an article concerning the collapse of the honey bees. It is frightening!
Come on, Steve! Everyone knows that wasps are predators! Didn’t you realize you were riding an “attack” Vespa?
Mild mannered Steve Williams pulls his silver Vespa into a nearby Barnes and Noble / Starbucks. Suddenly, in a puff of paper dust and coffee grounds he emerges as Yellowjacket Man!
I know, it’s a stretch with the yellowjacket, wasp thing, but about the same as your connection, right?
Kudos on both the photos and the article, Steve.
Just out of curiousity, how much time was involved with the research for the article. Certainly looks like something that required considerable time.
Excellent as aways.
We got the magazine today in the mail. The article looks great! Stacy and I are looking forward to reading about the bees. Awesome job!
Always love your photos Steve. I really need to get up in that part of the country sometime on my “scooter”. As for the Bees I’ve been hearing about this problem for the past two or three years…….I don’t think folks realize how much these bees do for mankind…….great work as always my friend.
Ride Safe
Ronman
We had read a previous short article on this problem about a year ago. Great job on this one. Very well covered and full of pertinent information. Is this in the line of your normal work or was this an extra curricular project? So well done!
I concur, really good article. You covered all the scientific bases in reasonable detail. Too many journalists would obsess on the “human cost” and lose sight of the important and difficult scientific aspects of the problem. The discussion about getting clean data, which comes up several times, is something that really needs to be emphasized in any article about real science.
As a former journalist and almost scientist myself, I am impressed.
“Somewhere along the line of scooter ownership I learned that Vespa means wasp in Italian”
…might it be my weblog? 😉
L’Insetto Scoppiettante (the Arkansas Chuggabug)
this post might be the key!
Brent: Still at PSU. My primary role at the magazine is as a photographer and photo editor. I work with the writers and art director to produce or locate suitable images for illustration. I’m still getting up to speed since this is a new responsibility. I used to do this before but not since 1991.
The writing was something I volunteered to do. I was interested in the CCD issue and I was a blog writer so I figured I must be qualified….
hrw115: I’m ready to get in the garden too. Lots of work waiting and I am ready!
rick: It is scary. It’s easy to let my mind run wild with possibilities. But I will keep watching what the scientist’s uncover.
irondad: You must have seen me at a Barnes and Noble! I’m just trying to figure out if I have a superpower that I am unaware of.
AS far as an attack Vespa goes, maybe. But not sure who or what I am attacking? Boredom? Indolence? Indecision? Noise? Chaos maybe.
doug c: I spent some time gathering journal articles and materials already published in the scientific community and went over them just to have a solid understanding. And I also looked at a variety of articles in the general press and on Web sites. I suspect this took 4 to 6 hours of work.
Most of what I learned was from direct interviews with the various researchers and scientists involved in the work. I think I did 7 interviews and each one was about an hour long.
gina: thanks! Say hello to Stacy for me.
ronman: Tennessee is a great place to ride as well. I’ve always considered the two states sort of similar in topography, at least in the Appalachian region.
And thanks for your kind words about the article.
heinz & frenchie: This was an extra-curricular activity at work. I’m not a writer but asked if I could give this topic a whirl. The editor gave me a go.
rickrusselltx: I appreciate your comments Rick. I can see how it would be easy to write a “what if” catastrophe article on this subject. the questions certainly came out of my mouth during interviews.
But as I worked through the story I was fascinated by the scientific detective work and I had not really seen much of that in the general press.
ale: I think it was in a book that I read about the name. I remember seeing overhead diagrams of the Vespa design next to an insect image…