Dungeness – Page 38 – Sequim Daily Photo

The days of bees and roses

The wild nootka roses are beginning to bloom again. For anyone fond of the adage, “stop and smell the roses” this is cause for celebration. Their scent is classic, heavenly rose. But my human nose wasn’t the only thing enjoying the roses. This bee was having a field day. It was lingering, almost lounging. If it could have rolled in the pollen I think it would have. And if I’d have been able to turn it into a cartoon, the thought bubble would say – with a French accent – “Oh, ma cherie! It has been so long! My heart has ached for the beauty of your soft petals and the sweetness of your pollen! At last! We are together again!” or, you know, something roughly like that.

And which makes me wonder: did you know that only female bees collect pollen?

Barn rerun

I’ve posted this barn before. The first time the perspective could have been better. I was happy to discover a road that provided the angle to better view this beauty.

Bob Clark, whose pioneer family goes back generations in Sequim, tells stories about this, his grandmother’s barn. I believe she may have been a Cline – as in Cline Spit – but I’m relying on memory, which is a weak crutch.

Tomb with a view

This is Dungeness Cemetery. It has a lovely view of the Olympic Mountains to the south and a walk through produces a who’s who of local pioneers for whom many of our local roads are named.

Escapees

After taking the shots of the eagle posted here yesterday, we encountered this trio of peacocks on the road. They acted like three birdbrains that had just broken out of jail without a leader or a plan. “Where the heck are we?” “I dunno. I followed you.” “Should we go back that way?” “Naaah. We’ve been there.”

“There’s that person standing there. Bushes there and there. Let’s go this way.”

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Which is my best side?

Here’s my left side. This is the side on the dollar bill. Noble? Photogenic? What do you think? Is this my better side?

Here’s the right. I’m thinking maybe I should go with this side next time they pose me for a bill. And I’m thinking of something bigger than a dollar to make it worth my time. What do you think?

Fairy slipper

Here’s a special little treat you can find on forest floors around here if you’re sharp-eyed. I love finding these fairy slippers (calypso bulbosa) around this time of year.

They grow among the leaves and duff. You can see how small they are. They look like something a tiny mythical creature might wear as a corsage.

Tour de Dung 3, goofing around

Sometimes it seems that life speeds by so quickly. And never so much as when watching a bike race, it’s bitterly cold, and your reaction time is off a beat. I meant to try slowing things down as I watched this race last year, just as my camera battery went dead. Should I admit to these kinds of dumb failures?

This year I decided to try again, starting with a full battery charge before the race started. At times it looked almost like this as I watched, orchestrated with the whir of tires on the pavement and the blast of racing energy.

And just like that they were gone.

Last year some curmudgeon complained in the newspaper that the race prevented him or her from pulling out of their driveway. I’d trade this any day for speeding cars, air pollution, and the state of obesity in the U.S.