The Birds and the Bees, and the Flowers and the Trees...

There's so much life in the cemetery!  I've spent the past two days photographing the pink blossoms of the Japanese cherry trees in Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery.  In the quiet, you can hear the birdsong of Orioles, Robins and Cardinals, and the soft buzzing of bees.  Butterflies silently flutter from blossom to blossom.  Ironically, Mount Pleasant is one of the most restorative places in the city.

The Sakura blossoms are divine.  The transluscent petals of each Japanese cherry blossom range from snow white to pink, with deep pink buds.  The Japanese love standing, sitting, or lying down, under the boughs, looking upwards into a sky of pink and blue.  It is breathtaking.  They even have a word for flower viewing: hanami, from the Japanese word for flower, hana.  Like cemeteries, hanami reminds us of the fleeting nature of our lives on earth, to mindfully observe each moment, and celebrate life. 

It's in looking upward, that we see the birds, the bees, and butterflies - collecting twigs for nests, searching for nectar, and pollinating the flowers.  I walked blissfully through my own real-life Disney movie, almost expecting a bird to click my camera for me, while a butterfly posed.

  

 

I heard them, before seeing them.  A brilliant mango-coloured pair of Orioles, with black and white wings.  Until yesterday, I had only seen orioles in books.  They flew from branch to branch, never resting for more than a few seconds.  Their song was pure, and clear.  There are two in this picture...the second one is to the left, and slightly below the one in the centre.  

I love the gentle hum of Honey Bees and Bumble Bees, shaking the pollen from flowers, as they bury their heads deep within each blossom.  They're happy workers, ensuring our food supply.  The Canadian Association of Apiculturalists likes to point out that honey bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat. 

Wandering through the acres of trees and flowers, my heart sings!  Morning turned to afternoon, as I lost all track of time.  My upturned face is now sunburned!  Sunburned, and smiling!

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.