You know that old saw about stopping to smell the roses? Photography can be something like that, except you lean in with your lens, absorbing all the details. Suddenly there appear all those wonderful bits of life and texture that on regular day are as invisible as the quantum world.
The scene was like some botanical swing dance, with the partners tethered by the slenderest strand of spider silk. A hot summer breeze kept the seed parachute aloft, but never out of reach of its partner.
Even past its prime, this brace of lily of the valley bells is still lovely. Taken June 8, 2014, Eagan, Minnesota.
If Linneas worked in children’s books, the native bee balm would probably be classified as Seussian.
Nature’s version of the seersucker suit.
We had a cold start Friday morning — in the low 40s. The cold grounded this big carpenter bee, who was up and buzzing the lavender again when the air warmed up.
Dandelions always remind me of my mother. It’s not just because yellow was her favorite color. The dandelion was a symbol of her cross-cultural learnings.
She grew up in Bangkok surrounded by a stunning array of wildly colored tropical flowers and plants of all sorts. In the 1950s, she had earned a fellowship to study nursing in England. It would be her first time spending an extended period of time away from home and her very large family.
London was a world away and homesickness bubbled under the surface. One drab spring day, she saw a blazing yellow beacon in the grass — a floral reminder of home. She bent down and promptly turned it into a boutonniere. She walked along near Russell Square with a smile as bright as the dandelion in her jacket lapel.
“Excuse me ma’am,” a bobby said with a little smile. “Do you know you’re wearing a weed?”
“A weed?” mom asked.
“A weed,” he said.
Mom just smiled and said: “It’s beautiful no matter what it’s called.”
Can’t argue with that.
And the winner is … Spring!
Arkansas did have one more round of snow on St. Patrick’s Day, with enough ice and snow to cause a 10- to 15-car pileup that shut down I-630 during the morning commute. However, Spring has gotten down to business and has taken the state in its firm grip.
This week’s photo challenge, “beginning,” is an excellent way to start the year. Our entry represents the beginning of a new cycle for our native dogwood trees. These buds are just awaiting spring’s arrival. (The beginning of spring seems like a long way away when the wind chill is in the single digits. Brrrrr.)
Other beginnings we liked this week:
While scouting images for the Weekly Photo Challenge, caught this bee making her rounds. Did not catch her best side, however.
The (Urban-Wildlife) Interface 