these flowers are dieing and i’m worried i won’t have anything to keep my bees around. in a few weeks i won’t have anything to interest them anymore!
i’m going to miss my bees
no! i’m not talking about my cat! here are some prickly pear cactus blossoms!
there are several different varieties…
my friend a told me that in the evening i could look in the flowers and see a bee settling down for a night’s sleep. i didn’t believe her, but she said yes, i could get up early and watch as the blossoms opened again, and there would be bees sleeping in there. “suuuuure” i said….”have another beeeeer” i thought.
i was taking pictures of blossoms tonight, and i was up close to one when all of a sudden, the anther started jiggling!
the honey bee was in there, getting comfy. he was crawling around deep inside the flower, finding just the right positioning before the petals enveloped him for the night.
i went from blossom to blossom, finding more sleepy bees. i don’t know what time they get up, what time the flowers open. i don’t know if i will remember to even look and to say “good morning honey bee.” (honey bee was one of loki’s dozens of nick-names!)
but the first gift was having a friend that told me about this crazy behavior. the next gift was being there with my camera when the bees hunkered down for the night.
i love my bees.
a couple weeks ago i mentioned i was becoming obsessed with getting the perfect bee shot. after seeing what my friend a’s “macro” can do, i’ve resigned myself to honey bee mediocrity and will return to focusing my lens and my efforts on….dogs.
but, i did get some pretty good shots, just not as amazing as hers.
she took this one:
it looks like he’s wearing leg weights….but its pollen. quads be damned.
here’s my shot:
funny thing, our pix got better AFTER we each had a couple pints of beer. i wouldn’t recommend getting schnackered and then going out to harass some africanized honey bees, but i felt safe with her. she know’s her bees. in fact, she appears to be getting in the minds of the bees. she is at ONE with the bees. can even identify them by the buzz they make.
oh, the bees were buzzing, as were we….
such a great weekend, with the cardinal, the bees, the bobcats. wish i didn’t have this cold, but other than that….life is good.
the pictures are better at part two, but i have to respect chronology…
continuing on my fantastic weekend, my friend a. came over and she has many fantastic qualities:
1. super cool entomologist who knows the buggins!
2. a pal that can drink the beers and talk the girl talk.
3. knows how to give the good belly rubs for my cody bear.
4. exxxxcellllent photographer, it just so happens.
but, here are my shots (which, as lame as they are, would not have been taken without her!)
looks like some dirt, huh?
here it is close up!!
it is a bee….emerging from an underground nest. turns out i have hundreds of bees living beneath my yard!
they’re fast, so that was an illustration….
more bees (better bees) later!
for some dogs, its when their person picks up the leash that they realize they’re going for a walk. or maybe its putting on a certain pair of shoes. whatever. for cody bear….its the baggie…
in the three and a half years i have had this dog i have only used 3 of these blue newspaper baggies. i carry one with me at all times but he never …um…lightens his load. he has NO idea what they’re for, only that they symbolize “we’re going for a walk!”
and they’re every where throughout the house because i never remember to take them out of my pocket. (they get laundered frequently)
so no matter where i am when i pick one up….i get this intense look for a tiny moment.
then the spinning begins.
i don’t like moving bags to their holding spot unless i am really going to walk him. that would just be cruel.
no cats on our morning walk!
here’s me, sans my dog. that’s right, i don’t take him everywhere. (wish i could)
secret is out: i wasn’t tracking wild butterflies when i got those pictures the other day. i was in the butterflyquest green house at the municipal gardens. they were all over. one even landed on my friend:
so you see, i’m not a photo phenom after all. but i’m having fun, and i think i’m doing relatively well for picking up the hobby in february!
as long as i’m making confessions, here is another: my celebrity crush? gordon buchanen, the scottish nature cinematographer who filmed the leopards of yala. SMOKIN! i think its the accent….
and another: i dance around with cody bear when the radio is on. not like the kind of dog dancing you see on youtube. we just shake our groove thangs every now and then.
that’s all i got for now.
i don’t know why i’ve become so obsessed with getting a good bee shot! all i know is…i felt alot safer shooting bees than i did with those crazy butterflies yesterday!
here’s a bee…
he’s been very industrious all morning, totally ignoring the crazy dog running around below.
and here’s a preening dove. i took this picture while waiting for the bee…
he’s a cute bird, i guess. he’s not flying at my lens like that crazy blue morph butterfly.
i guess i should let that go. time to let the healing begin….
it was quite a day….
one part of that day, butterflyquest at a local municipal garden.
i got out of work at 12:30 today, which was so great! went on a mini photo vacation with my friend m. the bugs and buds were lovely!
but you have to be quick on your toes with these guys. they can be nasty!
impish insect!
came home, ate a pound of chips and salsa in minutes flat, then left for business meeting which turned out to be very fun and very productive. then home to grab cody bear for an evening walk through the garden district with friends….where he saw a cat while i was doing an elaine bennis dance imitation and chased after a cat, almost catching it right in front of the poor fluffy’s personal assistants. COMPLETELY ignoring my shrieks. looks like cody bear gets to retake really reliable recall class. (he’s grounded right now!)
since no animals were actually hurt, i am giving the day a paws up. there was some fun stuff!
thanks for stopping by!
