I am a primatologist who spends twelve hours most days in the company of a thirteen year old chimpanzee named Bow. I am also an editor with Inverted-A Press.
Today is such a beautiful, sunny day. Bow and I decided we would go outside together and take some selfies. Before we went outside, I decided to brush my hair. Bow seemed to think that he needed to do the same, because when I was experimenting with camera angles, I suddenly saw him behind me, brushing his hair. He was very diligent about it.
Everything has been blooming lately, nature putting forth its most attractive face.
The apple blossoms have opened wide, even though there are still no pollinators in sight.
The daffodils are in full bloom, and the peach blossoms are doing their part.
No wonder Bow also wanted to look his best for his photo shoot in full sunlight.
He needed his chance to shine, too. He waited patiently for me to find just the right angle.
Bow has had to put up with a lot of flower pictures lately. When I show them to him, he is singularly unimpressed.
But he will just have to bear with me, because, after all, it is spring, and that is the season for flowers.
Cherry Blossoms
In the morning, we wake up to beautiful birdsong. I let Brownie into the yard at sunrise, and I wish I could follow him, too, because the songs of the birds are beckoning me.
I have seen quite a few butterflies on my walks in the field, but they won't stop for a portrait.
In the afternoons, when it is no longer chilly, Bow goes outside.
The dogwood is already putting out its showy blossom, although the parts that pass for petals are still green.
Green dogwood flowers
The dogwood blossoms are really set up to produce drupes, so it's those little green balls in the center that are the buds which will one day soon bloom into flowers, which in turn will seem like fruit. But the things that look like flower petals now are merely bracts.
But Bow does not care about all that, and he sees no need to rehash it every time the dogwood blooms.
However, Bow does like to eat peaches and cherries and pears and apples, so he does see the usefulness in allowing me to go out and inspect the blossoms in our orchard.
And after Bow has gone to bed, I make another pass, and I get to see the apple blossoms on our brand new apple tree up close.
Beauty can be functional. April flowers can bring us edible fruit later on in the summer and fall.
It is raining again now, but after the last rain, there was a short respite, and I went back out and looked at the flowers.
Service berries by the fence line
After the rain, in that strange light that lingers in the air, everything looks greener, even the service berries by the pasture fence.
apple blossoms against a cloudy sky
The blossoms on the new apple tree all seemed to be opening at once.
apple blossoms close up
It was hard to capture a clear picture of each blossom, because they would not stand still. The branches of the new apple tree were towering up into the sky and swaying in the breeze.
apple branches swaying in the breeze
But where were the bees? Didn't they want to take advantage of the opening apple blossoms? No. They had all gone to call on the Weigela blooms by the woods.
The Weigela blossoms, more numerous that the apple blooms, and just as pretty, drew my entire bee population into their midst.
a bee comes to call on a Weigela bloom
The bees were so confused by the embarrassment of riches before them that they flitted too quickly from flower to flower to flower.
Which Weigela blossom is best? Which is the prettiest? Which offers the sweetest nectar? It is very hard for me to tell, and gauging by the bees' reactions, they don't know, either. Every one is beautiful in its own way -- and they are very hard to tell apart!
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