Nature is Really Incredible!

Everybody is probably tired of seeing birds, birds and more birds, But Sparky is planning on getting some of these blogs made into blog books one of these days, so she wants to remember all the birds on these bike rides that she has seen once she gets really too old to remember the names of them! Sparky is getting to be a little bird brained herself, forgetting things....Today, she brought home a movie and had Eldy asked her what movie did she rent, she'd have to go look to see what it was! By the way, if you haven't seen "The Judge" with Robert Duvall and Robert Downey, Jr., that is a wonderful movie! Sparky watched that the other night....Heartwarming, funny, heartbreaking, and guaranteed to cause you to possibly tear up.

So-o-o-o-o-o...what's so incredible about nature? Besides our national parks, Alaska, North Carolina, and all 50 of our fabulous states (some mentioned in previous blogs).....and our beautiful sister cities here--the Bradenton/Sarasota area, there are just so many amazing patterns and beauty to see all around you. While people lead tremendously busy and stressful lives while they work, once you are retired, you can truly slow down and smell the roses, and look at the flowers, and stop and study things. (Sparky slow down???? HA! says E. But she really is slowing down, so that's a good thing....except she's subbing 2-3 days a week, so that's only a partial slow down.)  But hey...ever see a bottle brush tree? Their official name is the Calistemon tree....And they are all over the place in Sarasota and Bradenton, and Florida....These incredible blooms hang dangling from the Calistemon tree are in full bloom this time of year.

The evolution of the bloom is pretty cool! The seed pods come out first......

This shot courtesy of Wikipedia

Then, the blooms begin to travel down the pod heads, opening up little by little.....Here come the little "brushes"!

The bees are an important part of the pollination...The day Sparky photographed the little seed pods and the brushes opening up, HUNDREDS of bees were all over the bottle brush tree, doing their business! Sparky managed to capture a bee with the iPhone 5S remarkably well. This is one of her favorite nature shots of all using the iPhone.

It was a beautiful day....trees are blooming all over the place....

Even the few maple trees that Sparky sees here in Sarasota are throwing out their little "wings"....And they are so much more brightly colored!

The reflections in the waters of the ponds and lakes were exceptionally pretty today....

There are so many flowering bushes and plants that Sparky has never seen before in other places....

We are just really really lucky to have a found a home here in the Sarasota/Bradenton area....It's beautiful 365 days a year, even if it is hot in the summer! :-)  Bye for now......