“In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love” (Alfred, Lord Tennyson), but he could have said the same for insects too. Male insects will be following the scent of females, looking for a partner, but not every female is what she seems to be. It might look like the orchid is getting some unwanted attention in the video below, but it’s actually the bee that’s the victim. The orchid has released complex scents to fool the bee into thinking it’s meeting a female.
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What's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?
Aileen Davis of Appleby’s Bookshop in Morpeth couldn't choose between two sights which she felt were the most beautiful she'd seen: the orchids in Singapore (the walkways across the roads, she says, are ‘festooned’ with them) and the aerial view of New Zealand as you approach Auckland Airport.
‘I was on holiday in NZ three years ago and as the plane came into land, I looked out of the window and on this clear day glimpsed the entire coastline, including the volcano at the other end of the island. I haven’t seen anything more beautiful.’
But before you decide to jump on a plane to the Far East, Stephanie Ellison would argue that you should to take a trip to the North East and visit Seven Stories Bookshop in Newcastle:
‘In the attic on level 7 of our shop is an art installation by illustrator/author Oliver Jeffers. It’s very beautiful. I’m sure that everyone in the shop would agree that it’s the most beautiful thing they’ve seen. There are books hanging from the ceiling, and books at all different levels - it’s a sight to behold.’
To help promote our new title The King Who Wanted More, We're finding out what is the most beautiful thing people have ever seen. It could be a landscape, a painting, a building, or maybe something altogether different...it’s completely up to you. Please email [email protected] if you'd like to take part.
This kind of thing doesn't usually happen to me, but the other day Bradley brought home a branch he found on the sidewalk. It was Valentine's day and he was bringing me some flowers, but noticed the branch and thought I might like it too.
We thought it was a pussywillow branch. I didn't know what would happen but I put it in a vase with some water and clipped the bottoms of the branches. Then I gave up and took the branches out a few days later to wash the vase, but then Bradley noticed one of the buds seem to be opening a bit so I put them back in the water.
The buds kept getting fatter and the furry shells popped off. And inside there was some pink! Then today, the biggest one opened up all the way and revealed itself to be a magnolia flower! I love magnolia trees so much. Someday I would like to have one. But in the meantime I can't believe how pretty this branch is now. It doesn't quite seem real.
I took lots of pictures because it's so lovely, so here's a side view:
In other flower news, the orchid has bloomed at last!
There are two flowers so far. I didn't take a great picture but this one will give you the general idea.
Speaking of not-great pictures, my photos keep having shadows in the corners. Is my camera dying or am I doing something wrong?? If anyone knows I'd love to hear from you. I can fix a bit of vignetting easily in Photoshop, and sometimes I like the effect, but maybe something's not right here.
This has never happened for me before. I love orchids so much and I keep them and try to look after them once they've stopped blooming but I've never had one bloom again. The closest I got was a stem and some buds but they dried up and died. Heartbreaking.
So this is very exciting for me. This orchid was a present from my parents on my birthday last year, with large gorgeous purple blooms. As you can see the buds already look a little purple. I'm taking pictures just in case something goes wrong. I think last time my other orchid tried to bloom I must have changed something. Too much watering maybe. So right now I'm trying not to change a thing. And crossing my fingers!
Please leave a comment if you have any general suggestions. This orchid has a spot on the windowsill over the sink so it gets a medium amount of light, occasional steam from the kettle and light watering with warm water not very often. I try to wait until the soil feels dry. And of course in the winter I never open the window so it won't get a chill! It also has another orchid for company. I have some food... not sure if I should give it some now?
Incidentally, I try to take pictures with a nice plain background, so if my home looks like a tidy haven of tranquility, the fact is there's a big mess right behind me.
My daughter spotted this window full of orchids while taking the smart poodle for a walk. The flowers are inside a church near our house. There was quite a bit of tinting on the windows and a glare of sun behind us, but I took some photos anyway. It is pretty interesting how the reflection of the trees behind us show in the glass, and you can see our reflection too. (top of our heads anyway.)
Happy weekend everyone!
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Oh goodness, I absolutely love magnolias too! That is so exciting about the surprise branch and also that your orchid bloomed for you again.
Not sure why your camera is acting up though.
Gorgeous.
Could the camera be the lighting around the image you are photographing?
That is a really sweet story Claire, It almost seems like it's from a children's story book.
http://houseofcaitlinrose.blogspot.com/
the vignetting is normal. usually it is influenced by your choice of lens. have you started using a new lens?
thanks everyone!
that's reassuring, becky, I think I just starting noticing it more lately.
it's just a point and shoot Canon A80 - no changing of lenses.