Bees and Blooms

Remember the pregnant girl who picked stole flowers from our local arboretum? To answer those that asked, yes there was a sign. More than one.

Anywho...enough of the flower thief. Onto prettier things.

Out of focus, but I love the way he pulled the petals around his head.

Enjoy the weekend, y'all! See you on Monday. I'll leave you with this:

"If you love a flower, don't pick it up.

Because if you pick it up it dies and it ceases to be what you love.

So if you love a flower, let it be.

Love is not about possession.

Love is about appreciation."

Osho

Stretched

It's been a couple weeks since I posted any hummingbird shots. Thought I'd give y'all a break. These are from our local arboretum on September 19th. This little gal staked out the flowers that lined the walkway leading into the arboretum, guarding her area fiercely. There was one dry plant limb she favored that was closest to my camera set-up, about 6 ft. away. It was truly a gift. All that guarding and chasing off competitors required lots of stretching to stay limber. Her dedication was admirable.

Today is our 24th wedding anniversary. Since my aunt's 38th anniversary was on Oct. 23rd, we celebrated together at a seafood restaurant over the weekend. It's such a blessing to see my aunt free of pain, able to enjoy the simple things of life. My uncle (her brother) gave her a rose bush he started from a cutting off my grandmother's rose bush. He brought it to me and I gave it to her on Saturday, along with tissues. :) The rose bush has been around for decades and survived being run over by my granddad's lawn mower for years. The rose bush is a survivor, so it's only fitting that a cutting goes to JoAnne. It already has three buds on it and will have the deepest, velvetiest, red blooms you've ever seen. My uncle promised to start a cutting for me, too.

Thanks to the wonderful hosts of:

Link

Winged Things and a Rant

Had an interesting encounter last weekend at the arboretum. I watched from a distance as a young (and very pretty) pregnant girl picked a small bouquet of flowers. Carefully she made her selections; however, one flower was rejected and placed on a brick post to wither and die.

When she made her way over to the rose section, closer to me, I saw no choice but to confront her. As gently as possible I informed her that she wasn't allowed to pick the flowers, that they were for everyone to enjoy, especially the butterflies and other insects who depend on them. I'll spare you the entire exchange, complete with eye rolls and sass. However, I remained calm yet firm.

As I was packing up my car to leave, she walked by, glaring at me, sans flowers. My jaw dropped open. I said "Where are the flowers?" She said, "Does it really matter? I mean, after you bitched at me, I no longer wanted them." "Well," I said, "that's just great. Now they're wasted. You really should have known better anyway."

Doesn't everyone know you cannot pick flowers from a local arboretum as though it was your own personal garden?!

Okay, rant over. Here are some critters I was able to shoot in between blood pressure spikes.

Guess who? Face blurred on purpose.

It's been a long time since I felt angry enough to confront a complete stranger, so it's still bothering me. Not one of my finer moments to say the least. My biking partner said she would have nicely informed her that twice a year the arboretum has plants for sale, but I didn't know that. Would you have handled the scenario differently?

Blessed

Last week I made a quick dash to the local arboretum with the express purpose of photographing butterflies. Instead, I was blessed with a female ruby-throat who guarded her patch of flowers tenaciously. She was so obsessed with protecting her territory that I don't even think she noticed me, since I stood a mere 5 feet from her perch. Below are shots of her preening. I have many more. Oh, so many! I thank God for this beauty and for the opportunity to click to my heart's content.

I know I'm behind in visiting. For whatever reason I cannot seem to get back into the blogging routine which is why I don't like to take breaks. If any of you are on Facebook, please connect with me there (see my badge on the sidebar). Thank you for your patience as I slowly get around to making visits.

Sharing with Anni at

And also Stewart at
Wild Bird Wednesday

This post was chosen by Hilary at The Smitten Image for her Phine Photography category. Thank you, dear girl!!! I am honored.

More Digital Cleaning

Pushing to clean up my hard drive so I can move the original Lightroom files to my external device at year end. Raw files are awesome, but they are awesomely HUGE. My Mac is about to burst!

Clouded sulphur from my back yard, 8/15/13

Unknown plant at local arboretum, 9/5/13

Pesky love bug on lantana, 9/5/13

Canoe at my aunt's camp, 9/7/13

Meet Cowgirl, next door neighbor of my aunt and uncle, 9/7/13
I have never seen a chihuahua with this color coat and blue eyes.
I seriously considered dognapping that day.

Zinnias at arboretum, 10/8/13

Gulf fritillary, 10/8/13

Linking with Saturday's Critters. Come join!

Quick Stop

Greetings from Cajun Country! As I schedule this post, it is still a bit humid and warm, but our trusty weatherman promises cooler temps next week. So by the time this post goes up, maybe my hair will be shiny and happy again.

Needing to get out of the house, I made a quick stop at the nearby arboretum to see what was up. After an hour, the heat had zapped my will to live. What's up with all the hyperbole coming from me lately? Anyway, an hour was enough to get some photos I was happy with. No complaints. Really! All photos taken on 10/29/13.

I don't know what this plant is, but it reminded me of a candelabra.

This plant has so much personality, doesn't it? First a candelabra, now a candy cane. Must be the Bette Davis of the garden.

I felt so bad for this poor ladybug who managed to get in the clutches of this assassin bug. :(

Long-tailed skipper

Cucumber beetle. I warned him about the assassin bug.

Pagoda flower

Cassia tree

May Flowers

It's good to be back blogging again. A big, hearty THANK YOU to the wonderful souls that are still here visiting.

The orange bokeh in the background is from some rather large day lilies. It looks like the
coneflowers are rocking out to a day lily concert. 

Female Eastern Pondhawk

Processed with a Shadowhouse Creation texture called RC-9.
Sorry, after an extensive search, I can't seem to find the link to this texture.

For those of you who prayed for, worried over, and asked about my eldest son, I have good news: he is in his fourth week of college at the University of North Texas in Denton. He has some significant physical challenges from a 6-story fall 13 years ago, but he told me that he's determined to make straight As. I'm very, very proud and pray that he will meet his goals and stay on this path. No more detours, JB!!! Many thanks to all who have inquired about him over the last two years and for your prayers. Blessings are starting to flow and it certainly is welcome a relief. Thank you, God!