honey bees

As I've been outside mowing the lawn, and looking at Allyn's gardens, I've noticed the return of honey bees this summer (see it!). This is wonderful news. Honestly I haven't seen honeybees around here for a number of years. They are stressed and struggling in Vermont and around the country. They are certainly an important part of the ecology, and I welcome their return.
On the other side of the coin, after a few years of absence, I happily noted the return of the bat population last summer. For some reason, however, I haven't seen any this summer. I hope they're doing OK.