He was a beekeeper living on the banks of the Inhulet, a tributary of the Dnipro river. With the Inhulets long course to the Dniprovs’ka gulf blocked by the breached dam water, the river turned on itself and flooded the land and homes through which it passed. As the water came and engulfed his home, the man rushed to save what he could. But the water rose quickly, and of his many beeboxes, he only managed to carry box number 5 to higher ground. As the water receded, the man surveys his home. Belongings in disarray and moldering. A carpet out to dry, soaked in tepid brown water. The fifth bee box now returned to its place, a softly humming testimony to the lives and livelihoods affected by the flood.

^ Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine | June 13th, 2023