The clematis are growing
Reaching tall with their vines
That curl like fingers
Gently Entwined
They wait for your return
As do I
©️2024, itsamyisaid.com
This is my submission for Kevin’s NTT 4/11/24 edition
Tag: Nature
More Bumbles
They’re so stinking cute! It’s going to rain for the next couple of days so I think these blossoms are going to be gone soon. Keeping that in mind, I wanted to capture a few more images of my favorite bumbles. One of them buzzed into my head today by accident. Both parties were uninjured.🩷
Chasing Bumblebees
Once the cherry blossoms reach peak pollen stage, the humans suffer greatly with allergies, but the bumblebees party hardy. (I saw a few honeybees getting down, as well.)
As is my normal routine this time of year, I chased bumblebees around the tree. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m daft, but I don’t particularly care. I love to be amongst the pink canopy watching the creatures pollinate. Sometimes I even see butterflies, but not so much lately, and that gives me a lump in the pit of my stomach.
Back to the bumblebees. They are docile, and they seem quite clumsy, but they have a mission. That mission does not include me with my phone’s camera all up in their grills trying to achieve the perfect capture. They buzz and tolerate me, but they despise close-ups. Trying to get a close-up of a bumblebee is like trying to catch a toddler who just found out about running: good luck.
These are a few of the photos I captured on my chase.
©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved
Dandelion
Dandelions feed the first bees and also the bunnies. I know people consider them weeds, but they’re not. They are food for creatures that are hungry after winter. They are bright, joyful indicators of spring, and I’ve heard you can make delicious wine from the flowers. The greens are very healthy to eat, as they cleanse the liver.
When the dandelion petals turn to fuzz and their seeds can be dispersed easily, this is where most people have a problem with them in their yard, but I’ve always liked to make a wish and blow the seeds wherever they may go. I’m hoping one day my wishes come true.
I’m not the only one.
Cherry Blossoms
This is a photograph only post. The cherry blossoms are doing the thing. I’m so happy the tree lived.
Frailty
April 2, 2011
A young deer collided with my mom’s car this morning. We were driving back from the grocery store, trunk full of food, discussing something mundane about the week; something I can’t recall now. We saw one deer dart across the left lane of traffic and we gasped. My mom applied her brakes. We momentarily believed we had escaped what could have been a horrific situation, and then, just as suddenly, two more young deer darted from the brush.
My mom did what she could to slow down, but there was no way to avoid what was to come. The third deer ran head first into the driver’s side of the car. A loud thunk was felt and we pulled over. Already I was sobbing. I did not look back. I COULD NOT look back. My mom was shaking and sobbing. People began to pull over, maybe wondering if they could help us, maybe wondering if we were ok. Some did come up to the car and talk to us, making sure we were all right.
Physically, we were fine. The car was not damaged. Emotionally we were not fine. I am still not fine. That young deer didn’t die right away, it lingered for maybe 10 minutes before dying. Someone – I don’t know who – came and took the deer away. I don’t know if it was the County or a person who was planning on utilizing the meat. I don’t care. A deer died a traumatic death in the middle of the road because of a man-made vehicle that could not stop in time. The people inside that car do not agree with killing of animals for sport, and one of them (me) is adamant against such activities. So, to accidentally kill a deer – or any animal – is, for me, excruciating.
To unintentionally kill a beautiful animal that has every right to live is a horrible, horrible feeling. I took my mother’s hand and held it. And we cried. I cried not only for that young deer in the road, but for all the other deer who meet similar fates, and for others who are cruelly killed for sport.
Finally, the police arrived and said they do not file police reports for deer collisions, and since there was no damage to the car, my mom would not have to fix anything, so need to contact the insurance company.
Deer hair lingers on the driver’s side window, though, and I can’t bear to go over to that side to see the small dent I have been told is there now.
So that’s it. Nothing can be done. We just go on about our day? What about the two other deer? Where did they go? Do they wonder what happened to the young doe?
Are they waiting for her on the other side of the road, off in the distance?
Sorry, I just can’t finish this. I can’t stop crying.
Please, whatever you do today, hug your dogs, your cats, your ferrets, whatever pet you know and love. And hug your people, too. We are all fragile in this life.
©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved
Letting The Light In
My flowers are starting to come alive now that we’ve sprung into Spring. I’ll have a post about my favorite tree – the Eastetn Redbud – coming soon, but until then, please enjoy these photos of what’s happening around here.
Cherry Blossoms – a poem about my mom and her beloved tree.
Ashes To Dirt – a poem about spreading my mother’s ashes underneath her tree.
©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved
Lucky Charms
Purple Shamrock (oxalis triangularis)
Top of the mornin’ to ya.
Summer
I live in the Northern Hemisphere, so summer will be starting in June. I live on the East Coast of the US where it gets very hot and very humid in the summer. Not so long ago, the heat and the humidity didn’t bother me. Since I’ve had this migraine diagnosis, I’ve learned migraine brain does not like heat nor humidity.
But Amy‘s brain can do whatever it likes.
The rest of Amy likes walking in the cool, soft grass with bare feet, wearing sundresses, feeling the warmth of the air and the sun on her skin, seeing the trees, lush in all their summertime greenness, smelling the warm air and hints of a storm brewing. (Her birthday is also in the summer, so maybe she is biased towards the season.) Sitting under a canopy of leaves looking for four leaf clover while sipping an iced tea or eating an ice cream bar is considered the finer things in life. Peeking out the window as it gets closer to lightning bug season, waiting for the first bioluminescent buggy butt still brings her great joy after many years. She still squeals when she sees it. Watching the bunny rabbits play late into the night when it is still light out is one of her other favorite sights. Spotting hummingbirds is at the top of the list of Exciting Events. Chasing butterflies with a phone camera is a close second, although the butterflies do not feel the same, and she thinks they even give her the side eye as they fly away. No matter. She will chase rainbows after a heavy storm and wait for the butterflies to return.
Yes, I took all of these photos. And yes, none of these creatures were happy about it. My neighbors likely believe me to be just a touch off…but it’s not my fault. They won’t stop for the camera and I have to chase them down, yelling for them to please stop and just let me take the photo.
Crocuses Are Here
Spring is in the air…
