SPWING EXPWODES!!!

A couple of weeks ago I had on here about the daffodils blooming on my first big hike. Well since then spring has just exploded into all kinds of things. The forsythias (I have no idea if I've spelled that right.) have brightened everything up everywhere. One forsythia bush we have (this one in the picture) is about 30 feet across and about 10 feet high. We just keep mowing around it and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Something else that has come back are the bees. The last few years have seen a bit of a shortage of bees here, but then again maybe we just didn't have enough to feed them. Whatever the case with our bradford pears are all in a bloom and the bees have come back in full force and seem to be lovin' it. This small bumble bee was gorging himself on the nectar from these blossoms as were a few hundred of his closest friends. He was working every blossom for all it was worth and then some. I don't even think he knew I was there taking his picture.

The wind had picked up a lot during the time I was out shooting on this day and just below where the bumble bee was at, on a longer limb a honey bee was working several other blossoms. I slowed the shutter speed down so you could see all the motion in the limbs. That dark spot just above center is the bee that was hanging on for dear life as the gusts tried to shake him off. At one point as he was working near the bottom he was holding on with just his two upper legs as his body just kept swinging out away from the flowers. I'll say this. He was every bit as strong as any ant I've seen. For him the wind was like being in a hurricane.

In this last picture I was looking at some creeping phlox on the back deck and saw this one little guy who seemed ready to party. Another blossom in the upper right looked like he was trying to come out but I think he was actually thinking more about sleeping in. The other one though was all bright and bushy tailed. As you can see the rest of the little guys are all still tucked into their little beds. Not anymore. I was outside just a few minutes ago the party was going on wild and strong. I got a little ambitious yesterday and dug the weeds out of my flower garden in my driveway circle. Last year I was a little lazy and it turned into a flowering weedbed. This year I'm going to add some more color to it although I have no idea what I'm going to plant. I guess I'll do the eeny-meeny-miny moe thing.

Today when I went got out on the roads other things were bustin' open. The redbuds have started their new year with some bright purple blossoms. One of our favorite friends, the dandelions are also shoving their royal yellowness into the mix. Oh...and let's not forget our friendly yard grass. They're already getting close to needing a haircut. Like they say...let it grow, let it grow, let it grow.