I have a tale to tell today that happened to me last week. It is of my quest to get decent shots of apple trees in full bl
ossom. I face quite a few problems every year I try to get lovely pictures. The first being that the trees are only in bloom for about a week and a half; a very small window to work with. The second snag is they always bloom in the midst of the rainy season so sun shots are elusive! So, on a partially cloudy day and with all these odds in mind, I made my way out to Woodmont Orchard in Hollis, NH.
Woodmont Orchard grows apples for the Veryfine Juice company and have donated their working orchard roads as hiking trails to the town. On the particular day I ventured out, a pack of unleashed dogs ran at me, mud flying, drool abundant and full of the desire to jump up on me a few times. Two middle aged women with more dogs on leashes and pocket sized dogs in their arms followed the dogs and casually said hi as they walked by, ignoring the mud and slobber their dogs endowed upon me. As I hurried away, I was so focussed on the dogs, I missed the "do not pass this point" sign...
And that's how I met the bees. I passed the first set of boxes without a problem, they were too intent on the trees. The second set of boxes was larger and I passed in a wide arc. Apparently, this wasn't enough because soon I had bees in my hair and strafing my arms and legs! I ran, hitting my head and trying to shake the bees from my hair. I flung my sunglasses from their perch on my head and it didn't help. They were tangled and their buzzing wings were getting higher pitched as I angered them more. In a panic, I recalled some useless trivia that if a black bear chases you, you fling your backpack and hope he chases that before you - so in my distressed mental state, I flung my camera. Yea... it made sense at the time. You try being there and do better!
In the end, I was lucky to not my stung on my head, but those bees did get my hands as I whapped at them. Only 3 stings - I consider myself rather lucky considering. But they did win in the end because although I easily found my camera, my sunglasses were lost forever in battle. I went back out there a couple of times, gingerly searching the grounds, and they are gone.
ossom. I face quite a few problems every year I try to get lovely pictures. The first being that the trees are only in bloom for about a week and a half; a very small window to work with. The second snag is they always bloom in the midst of the rainy season so sun shots are elusive! So, on a partially cloudy day and with all these odds in mind, I made my way out to Woodmont Orchard in Hollis, NH.Woodmont Orchard grows apples for the Veryfine Juice company and have donated their working orchard roads as hiking trails to the town. On the particular day I ventured out, a pack of unleashed dogs ran at me, mud flying, drool abundant and full of the desire to jump up on me a few times. Two middle aged women with more dogs on leashes and pocket sized dogs in their arms followed the dogs and casually said hi as they walked by, ignoring the mud and slobber their dogs endowed upon me. As I hurried away, I was so focussed on the dogs, I missed the "do not pass this point" sign...
And that's how I met the bees. I passed the first set of boxes without a problem, they were too intent on the trees. The second set of boxes was larger and I passed in a wide arc. Apparently, this wasn't enough because soon I had bees in my hair and strafing my arms and legs! I ran, hitting my head and trying to shake the bees from my hair. I flung my sunglasses from their perch on my head and it didn't help. They were tangled and their buzzing wings were getting higher pitched as I angered them more. In a panic, I recalled some useless trivia that if a black bear chases you, you fling your backpack and hope he chases that before you - so in my distressed mental state, I flung my camera. Yea... it made sense at the time. You try being there and do better!
In the end, I was lucky to not my stung on my head, but those bees did get my hands as I whapped at them. Only 3 stings - I consider myself rather lucky considering. But they did win in the end because although I easily found my camera, my sunglasses were lost forever in battle. I went back out there a couple of times, gingerly searching the grounds, and they are gone.
RIP:
3 Honey Bees who died valiantly whilst trying to defend their hive - even if they were insane
&
UVA/UVB Polarized Sunglasses 2009-2009
3 Honey Bees who died valiantly whilst trying to defend their hive - even if they were insane
&
UVA/UVB Polarized Sunglasses 2009-2009
2 comments:
true story! Poor bees.... poor sunglasses... moral of the story, Trillium Fae + missing "no trespassing sign" = dead bees. I feel for the glasses tho... all alone in the world *sniffle*.. i'll write a sad blues song in their memory. amazing pics btw, despite the lack of sun
i agree, despite the absince of a bright sky, the pictures did come out well. my fave is the very first one. Up close and personal, ^_^ i love that you were able to get both full grown flowers all the way back to the buds. it's almost like showing multiple generations.
and yes 'there there' for the fallen bees who fought so bravely to defend there coven of pollen sucking beings. *salutes their passing souls*
OH and hi Kayla!!
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