Fight of the Bumblebees

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 blossom. 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

A Few Spring Flowers

The lovely tree above was taken last week at the gardens of Maple Farm; Beaver Brook, Hollis. This is one of my favorite haunts. I'm not sure what this tree is really. It's aroma was absolutely heavenly however and reached to the back of the gardens. The scent reminded me of gardenias.


To the left you'll see the current winner of the garden popularity contest; the 'Bleeding Heart'. I saw these once in a greenhouse a few years back, but not in any garden. Now, I see them everywhere. Let's face it, anything mildly dramatic in name or nature always makes it big. This shot was taken from the Maple Hill Gardens.

Of course, I can't mention spring flowers without another glimpse of my favorite, the trillium. I saw my first trillium about 4 years ago - all white and solitary in the forest. Something enchanted me about it and I've been obsessed with them ever since. From my research on trying to cultivate a wild one, I've learned they are the official provincial flower of Quebec and are illegal to pick there. Considering my ancestry is from Quebec (both native and french immigrant) I found it suspiciously coincidental that it should speak to me so loudly. :) This is a painted trillium from the Heald Tract - where I've had most of my wildlife adventures.

And lastly, the New Hampshire state flower; the Purple Lilac. Trilliums may be my favorite, but these still top the list of the most enticing scent! You can't really drive down any street in Milford without seeing a big bush of these purple air fresheners in someone's yard.