I’ve been capturing a lot of flowers lately. We’re still waiting on the Calla lilies, the daisies, the clematis and the hydrangea. Everything else is blooming or almost done blooming. Special bonus photos at the bottom.
©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved
In All the Wrong Places…
If you know, you know.
To cheer myself up, I’m going to do a photo dump of my plant children. There are a couple of surprises this spring.
©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved.
I wrote about William last fall. He has been doing his thing all winter, and he withstood a tornado. Although he did shed a few limbs, he seems unscathed overall.
This week William has decided to participate in the pollination of the entire neighborhood. The winds are a bit gusty, so William is trying to populate everything, basically. My next-door neighbor asked me today what kind of tree he is. I could tell she was annoyed by all of his spring activities – i.e. dropping seed pods. I told her he is a Willow Oak and many years ago, my mother thought her beloved Birch trees were dropping these pods, so she had them all cut down. It turns out, William was dropping the pods. My mother was upset about that for many years. She didn’t like William. William is a big boy, it would take a crane and many thousands of dollars to remove him. So William stays, and the bigger he gets, the more seeds drop. Everywhere. You can’t go outside without getting rained on by seed pods these days. They clog rain gutters, they form piles of tumbleweed looking things, and they get under your wiper blades. I think birds use them for their nests, though. But they can’t take a bath in the birdbath because it’s filled with William’s pods.
I was out front fussing with the clematis this morning when two (other) neighbors walked past and talked amongst themselves about these pods being everywhere. I didn’t say a word, except a good morning when the greeting was offered to me. I kept my eyes down and focused on my task. When I was done, I walked in my house and shook my hair. Twelve seed pods fell out. Thanks, William.
Oh – one more thing: for the past several years, there has been a toad living in my backyard. When I had all the English ivy eradicated last fall, I was worried that the toad might have been adversely affected. I am happy to report that Toady McToaderson is back and apparently in fine health. Today is the first day I have heard him singing his dulcet sounds to the lady toads. Welcome back, Toady.
©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved
It’s about 90° here now, which is unusual for April and early May. Everything is hot, including humans, animals and tiny creatures. I was on my usual excursion to my neighbor’s mailbox to retrieve her mail, and when I opened the mailbox, a bumblebee was inside. It seemed disoriented and probably was quite warm having been in a hot metal box with no escape. I had just gotten my own mail, so I had torn up junk mail in my hands which came in handy – no pun intended.
My neighbor had a package in her mailbox, but nothing else, so I ignored that for a moment and used the scraps of paper that I had just torn up to escort the bumblebee out of the mailbox. It was essentially a real Lyft. The bee climbed on and I carried it in front of me like a golden child, which bumblebees truly are. I tried to find flowers, but much of them are gone, and the new batch haven’t bloomed yet. I tried a Dianthus, but as soon as I perched him or her on there, I could see there was no pollen. I apologized and eventually convinced the bee that I would find a more suitable flower. We traveled in the same way (golden child real Lyft transport system) toward the backyard where I put the bee on some wild violet flowers. It seemed there was some pollen in these, but the bee was so heavy, the flower took a slow drop to the ground. I frowned. The bee was determined and more lively at this point, so after two attempts at the wild violet flowers, I convinced he or she to get back on the paper and I would find a flower. I walked over to the azaleas, but immediately knew there was no pollen. I was out of ideas. In that moment, the bee buzzed away – took flight and was completely recovered. Buzzy was no more silent bee. Then the bee found an appropriate weed and proceeded to feed. If you’ve been here a while, you know that I chase bumblebees for photo ops. I thought maybe the bee would let me get a quick snap in, but no. But that is ok. Their lifespan is short, after all, and they have to capture the pollen. After the bee buzzed away, I went back to my neighbor’s house, got her mail out of her mailbox and put it on her stoop.
I’ve been on insect saving duty the past three days – one of the hazards/joys (however you want to look at it) of spring. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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
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
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.
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.
“It's Amy,” I said. 