Bee determined

I was shooting the iris–great stuff–but the angry buzzing in the rhodies behind me was finally too distracting.

Apparently wet rhododendron blossoms don’t lend themselves to easy nectar gathering. As I watched, bumblebees tumbled out of blossoms, righted themselves and headed back for more. They slid down the soggy petals, scrabbled for footholds, got stuck and buzzed themselves out.

I trained my camera on one patch of blossoms where the buzzing was especially frustrated. Sure enough, a bee was stuck between two flowers, trying to push his way into the clear. As he emerged, I took my first shot. [Read more]