Beauty in the Greenbelt: Bald Hip Rose

This spring has been very exciting for me. We planted our first trees, shrubs and ground covers in November of 2017. This year most of those plants had a tremendous growth spurt. Several species bloomed for the first time. One of those was this bald hip rose shrub.

The beginning of the path between the Mt. Baker light rail station and the Hanford Stairs is lined with bald hip rose shrubs.

One day in late May, this is what I saw as I was walking home from the Mt. Baker station.

I realized I was getting a glimpse of what our Greenbelt site is going to look like in a few years. WOW!

FOTD

Cee’s Black and White Challenge: Looking Through a Window

I saw the most amazing thing through my kitchen window this afternoon. I’m used to seeing spider webs close to the window, but today I noticed that there was a bee next to the spider. As I watched, the spider started turning the trapped bee over and over again, wrapping it’s silk filament around the bee with every turn.

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Once the bee was encased in the silk, the spider started pulling the bee upwards. Within a minute it moved from the middle of the plate glass window to a point where it was out of my sight.

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This evening, I discovered that Cee’s Black and White challenge for this week is “Looking Through a Window.” I love the synchronicity.

May A Solution Be Found

I read this morning that three million bees in one South Carolina bee farm died this week due to the Zika spraying. When I read the article, I remembered the post I wrote two years ago, We Need the Bees. In it, I included the link to an article where Whole Foods showed what their produce department would look like in a world without bees.

Such a tragic situation the Zika crisis is- for humans, bees and many other creatures. May a solution be found soon.

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(Click on the galleries to enlarge the photos.)

(Click on the gallery to enlarge the photos.)

Wordless Wednesday

Weekly Photo Challenge: Time

Posted for Weekly Photo Challenge: Time

Wordless Wednesday

The Glory of Nature

Of all the flowers in my garden, the ones I love the most are the purple asters. When I arrived home yesterday, I noticed that that plant was brimming with small bees. I pulled out my camera and started snapping photos. I was amazed when I looked at them later. Such incredible beauty.