One of the great things about Orchard Country is that you have a nice long stretch of time where you have Bees and Blossoms.

A couple weeks ago I posted about Bees and Blossoms. The trees with the blossoms then are now full of leaves and a different set of trees are now full of blossoms.

Most of the pictures that I took today were of a lemon tree.

I like the blossoms on the lemon tree. They have a bit more substance than the frail blossoms of the almond trees or the peach tree from the last post.

The bee here is busy pollinating the blossom.

This is an interesting picture. The sun reflecting off of the lemon seems to steal the show, but there is a lot going on in the shadows of the picture. The back of the honey bee is lit up by the sun while it is burrowing into the blossom.

If you look closely you can also see two ants that are also busy collecting nectar from the blooms.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day. A nice closeup of a bee on a leaf of the lemon tree. You can really see the details of this bee.

It was an interesting experience taking the pictures. I was standing by a buzzing tree. There were so many bees that there was a constant buzz. I also had a few bees flying very close to my face and I had to be fearless and know that they would not attack me as long as I stayed still.

There were also a lot of bees on a lavender bush, but I was only able to get a few clear shots.

I am still learning to use my new camera and later discovered I was in a different mode than I was expecting. I wish I would have discovered it soon as I would have had some better pictures. I must remember to always check what mode I am in.

I also took a few pictures in a cherry orchard. The cherry blossoms were very beautiful and I was also able to catch a bee at work.

I needed a little bit of practice taking pictures of cherry blossoms. I hope to get some really nice ones in a couple of weeks.

Which of the pictures above is your favorite? I keep changing my mind.

Steven