Could It Bee?

I was just taking a break from my pile of work (which is what has been keeping me from blogging...money) and I took a quick stroll around the grounds to check on the crops. I found 2 surprises that I was definitely NOT expecting to find. The first was this:

Last summer I bought a few bags of bareroot peony plants from Lowes on a whim and then left them to bake in the garage for a few weeks. Not smart. If there was such a thing as Child Services for plants, I'd have been hauled away long ago for neglect and abuse.

Anyway, we finally got around to planting them sometime in late June or so, I think, which with our heat was WAY too late. Live and learn. I thought for sure they'd just decompose in the ground and we'd start over someday with new peony plants and actual forethought and information. I was stunned to see these little peony shoots popping out of the front flower bed. Maybe they'll be fluffy pink flowers for us to enjoy this summer, after all!

The next surprise, and by far the most thrilling (in my opinion) was this little guy:

Now, I'm no insect expert, but I think that's a bee. Albeit a skinny and slow-moving bee, but what can one expect in mid-March? Here he is hanging out on my pear tree buds, and I found another hanging out in the blueberry patch. YES! THAT IS EXACTLY WHERE I WANT YOU! I'm nervous for the little buggers, considering we may get another dose of the white stuff this weekend. But I've learned that bees in the garden can only mean good things. I just hope they stick around.

Gardening readers, please feel free to weigh in on my mystery visitors to confirm or correct me.