Many times I watch honey bees. When I was just a kid I was afraid of them, and only their name terrified me. Back then, saying honey bee would mean danger.
When I grow up, I realized how gentle they are if you are gentle with the, too.
I don’t know how gentle are the honey bees from the place where you live, but the one in the picture above ( an Apis mellifera) is very gentle. If a bee is on a flower and you bring your finger very, but very close to the flower and you touch the bee, she will avoid your finger and will continue to collect pollen. Only if you use force and pressure, be sure she will sting you.
Bees do not visit all the flowers without discrimination, nor indeed do they seek to carry away entire those upon which they light, but rather, having taken so much as is adapted to their needs, they let the rest go.
When shall I see the white thorn leaves agen
And yellowhammers gath’ring the dry bents
By the dyke side on stilly moor or fen
Feathered wi love and natures good intents
Rude is the nest this Architect invents
Rural the place wi cart ruts by dyke side
Dead grass, horse hair and downy headed bents
Tied to dead thistles she doth well provide
Close to a hill o’ ants where cowslips bloom
And shed o’er meadows far their sweet perfume
In early Spring when winds blow chilly cold
The yellowhammer trailing grass will come
To fix a place and choose an early home
With yellow breast and head of solid gold.
We are surrounded by so many beautiful things and we don’t even know it. Or, worse, we say there is enough time for all.
Maybe there is enough time, but what if there is no more enough time for me (or you)?
What if this is the last day when I am able to see?
You don’t want to think about such things but yet…there are chances, unfortunately.
I keep asking myself what I will do if one day I will be a blind man?
How others will know what I was enjoying? How I will be able to show them the world as I saw it and yet not seeing it anymore?
My answer is: through the photographs I have taken.
There are some creepy portraits.But even these terrifying insects have their own tender moments. In the photo above, this insect was cleaning(?) its antennae using gentle his left foot.I found this butterfly standing on this flower. The light was poor and it was windy.
How incredible are its antennae!
I try to document many things like my belongings, our garden, our street, our neighbours, my dogs, our neighbour’s plants, the fields around our village, the forests, clouds, trees, bugs, and many other things. I take photos of my family, of my friends and of strangers.
AsterLittle insect, almost unnoticeable floating on water.
You might say these things will always be there, or at least for a long time starting now. But the real live has proven to me that …you never know when you see something for the last time.
And I will give you two examples:
First one: about two years ago I was off for a while. When I returned home, I took my bicycle and had a ride. I was shocked to notice that somewhere, about 3 kilometers away our house, a large area of forest has been cut down.
By chance, just a few weeks before I had taken a few shots of some trees, branches and leaves from that place. I was sure they will still be there for a couple of years and I will keep returning year after year. I was so wrong…
Second one: my grandmother was blind for way too many years before she died…Then I didn’t understand her and neither her special needs. Maybe one day …I will…
Enjoy this journey called life. Take photos of your wife, husband, children, grandparents, friends, neighbours, even of yourself, of your belongings, of your street, of your town, of everything you enjoy and of many things which you think will be there at least for many years. You never know when they will disappear…
Have you noticed how beautiful are the wings of honey bees?Their last pair of legs are special. They have a sort of baskets.Honey bees collect pollen and carry it to the hives. Can you imagine the work behind your jar of honey from your kitchen?A flower for my grandparents…For all these photos (except the one of butterfly standing on flower), I used this lens
The Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) is a bird around about 16 centimeters long. The male has brown back and bright yellow head. The female is much duller, and more streaked below. In the photograph above we have a female.
Its diet consists of cereal seeds and some insects.
This bird loves open areas, especially those with small trees. In winter form small flocks.
During winter, this is my favourite bird and during summer bee eater it’s my favourite one!
The Great Spotted Woodpecker is a bird around about 24 centimeters long and it is a permanent resident of our garden. It has very strong bill, for drilling and drumming on trees, and long tongue for extracting food. Also, might be very interesting to know that it has a special membrane which closes protecting the eye from flying debris. And some special feathers are covering the nostrils, too.
During summer, this woodpecker is such an inconspicuous bird! Its best ally is the foliage, and the only way to be aware of Woody’s presence it is the drumming, those repeated blows of its bill upon a trunk. What’s very interesting for me, it’s that a few years ago I noticed a woodpecker drumming upon an iron pole, not a wood one. The sounds were amazing.
Unfortunately, only during winter I have more chances to get some decent photos of this woodpecker.
Prahova River, Prahova, Romania | ISO 100 f/5 1/320 s
Tranquil, peaceful, little waves of low waters…
How to find strength when many things around you aren’t so great?
I don’t know the answer but I would gladly listen it if you will tell me.
I have been ill since Tuesday(Christmas Eve) and my hardest period was Thursday when I ate only three bananas, a bit of cheese and drank alot of tea and water.
I dislike these periods, imagine I’m inside the house for about a week, taking no photos of nature… and it seems I will be inside for a couple of days.
Shooting manual mode? Oh dear, are you kidding me? I can’t stop laughing!!!
Imagine a white man on a field. No, not a snowman but a man dressed in white(using a camouflage) trying to take his first photos using his new camera.
Perhaps for you, dear reader, there is nothing to laugh but for this dog was so funny to see a man standing still for minutes waiting for some birds to come.
Well, yes, that man was me and I have got a new camera. And the dog above is one of those many stray dogs we have in this area. They bark all the time when they see me…Sometimes I hate this, other time I know at least I am not alone there.
What’s my new camera?
I will tell you in the following days!
🙂
And yes, the dog has many reasons to laugh, the photo above is not one of my best…unfortunately.
Cornell's photos and words 