When flowers transform into fruit

The start of deliciousness.

Spring has to be one of the most miraculous times of year. Suddenly, magically, those branches that looked lifeless and bleak have begun to grow leaves. Trees are festooned in a riot of colour and perfume as blossom and flowers greet the sun. The sound of bees drowns out the sound of traffic as these busy workers frantically dash from flower to flower gathering pollen and by doing so they begin a valuable sexual, plant-reproductive process.

The busy bee-dance from flower to flower connects boy flower-bits to girl flower-bits and girl flower-bits to boy flower-bits which in turn transforms pretty flowers into delicious fruits. Complicated I know, but where would we be without our apricots, lemons, oranges, bananas, strawberries, plums, peaches and apples?

The transformation from flower to fruit is so fast. Only last week I was photographing the apricot blossom and those bees. Already this week I can see the fruit starting to form. Tiny, fuzzy little balls of green where just a few days ago flowers bloomed.

Now I just have to wait patiently for nearly three months before I can enjoy the fruits created from the labour of those busy bees.

The bees are buzzing. :-)

The busy bee never stops

September 1, the first day of spring in the southern hemisphere and a truly beautiful day here in my marvellous Melbourne.

I’m going to hit you will all the clichés. The sun is shining. The birds are singing, The flowers are blooming and the bees are buzzing. I’m sure if I ventured into the city and her parks and gardens that I would be able to add to the list of clichés. There would be lovers holding hands. There will be people walking barefoot on the lush grass. And I have no doubt that there are lambs cavorting somewhere.

I’m not going to get too excited though. I know my city and her weather too well. Winter has only loosened her grip, she hasn’t let go. She is simply allowing us to bask in her promises before she slaps us with her honesty.

But for now, I am happy to delight in the cool, spring sunshine and take my macro lens attachment (attached to my trusty Nikon D5100) outside to the blossoming apricot tree. The bees are also enjoying this glorious sunshine and are busy collecting and pollinating.

Hahahaha. If I thought taking photographs of fireworks was tricky, I had underestimated the level of difficulty involved in getting a sharply focused macro shot of a busy, working bee.