In photos: Busy buzzing bee in my garden

As I pulled up into my driveway today it was extremely hot, all I wanted to do was run inside and cool off...however, I quickly forgot about all that after I noticed this buzzing bee in my garden.

About two weeks ago we cleared out an overgrown area in our yard and planted some flowers (mostly perennials - I'm low maintenance that way!) On the way into the house, I glanced over to admire the plants as I like to do and noticed a bee.  I ran inside to grab my trusty Sony Cybershot and took a few pics.

The bee was a bit distracted by my photo taking and kept buzzing on and off this same flower, even though there were many other flowers of this type and more.  I guess I interrupted its work and this bee wanted to get the job done.

Although, for the most part, this bee was a pretty good sport!

I'm not sure why this one uploaded sideways!

Same angle as above but zoomed out a bit. Also uploaded to Blogger sideways!

Cropping in to see what I could see

Hailstorm in Northern Virginia

I've been living in the area a while now and occasionally we'll get some hail, but not usually the big pieces of ice you might see in the Midwest states (and this is probably small in comparison). Last week we had a storm blow in and by the looks of the clouds, it was ugly. Was out walking at the time, so raced home and made it just in time.

The wind was blowing pretty hard so didn't get too many shots of the hail, but here are a few that I was able to get.

Watching dandelions go to seed

Earlier this week on my morning walk, I decided to grab my camera on the way out. While I often tote my trusty Sony Cybershot around, my walks are usually not a time I do it. I was so glad I did on this particular morning as I found a few treasures including flowers in unexpected places and a caterpillar which I decided to follow for a bit.

The bird with the worm in its mouth was too fast for me, so I turned my camera's attention to some dandelions going to seed. The wind was blowing a bit so it was hard to get the shot I wanted, but I did get a few.

Make a wish, there are a few seeds left

Dandelion not yet let go of its seeds

This was the shot I really wanted, but it was not clear with the breeze. I did try. I now call it "Throwing Caution to the Wind".

In photos: 'Holland in Haymarket' at Burnside Farms

A highlight for me every year is heading out to Burnside Farms for its annual festivals. In the spring is "Holland in Haymarket" which is its amazing tulip festival. Other years I carve out time to head west to see the beautiful and equally as amazing sunflowers festival ("Summer of Sunflowers"). This year I hope to do both!

This morning had some time on this wonderful almost summer-like day to visit the farm. So many tulips, so little time!! But here are a few.

In photos: Flying critters at Monticello

Today's post takes a summer visit to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Usually during a visit, I like to spend some time seeking out bugs, butterflies and birds in the gardens. This is some of what I captured during a 2012 visit.