All the bright colors...

...and the shapes that vary... Last Saturday my plans had changed and I ended up wandering around the Botanic Garden instead of the mountains... But... I had no regrets ;) Yeah, even in the morning it was a bit toasty, but the flowers made this walk worth it. I found such intricate shapes of colorful beauties... Like this one, for example...

 

The other flowers were not so sophisticated, but still quite attractive...

Walking around the pond, I had a chance to peek inside the lotus flower... Nice and bright centerpiece... isn't it gorgeous?

I don't know what caught my attention as I was passing by the plain white flowers... Some small brown speck that looked like a small splinter... But when I looked closer, I recognized a JAB - Jagged Ambush Bug. This bug is an absolutely amazing creature, small and not easily spotted (I mean it, the average species is about 1/3-7/16 inch long, that's right, smaller than your pinky nail). It's also a master of disguise... I haven't seen them for a couple of years, but I enjoyed capturing them one summer (just click here to see more photos and learn about their habits - One bug show).

An ordinary bee isn't that interesting to watch, even if you caught one drinking from a drop of dew... By the way... this bee is about twice the size of a bug, how do you like it?

I was attracted by some buds and drops of water, and I couldn’t pass by without stopping...

I have always loved lilies, the regular ones and daylilies too. This one looked absolutely stunning and stopped me for a good 5 minutes while I tried to get a portrait of this beauty. I need to come back next week and bring some photos... I hope Lily likes them :)

Well packed cacti. They look flat and soft, but don't be fooled and stay away if you wear flip flops ;)

The same flower I started with, but taken from a different angle. Quite attractive, don't you think?

And the same JAB but also from a different angle. The bug was so motionless... but the wind made taking this portrait a bit of a challenge...

 

The bees were really active around all the flowers at this hour, and sometimes I could spot two or three of them competing for the same flower. I couldn't understand it at all... This is a Botanic Garden after all, and there are enough flowers for every bee... no need to crowd and shove each other trying to get some nectar. But what do I know about honey gathering...

 

At this point it became too hot to continue, and I left the garden. One hour is enough in this heat, and I look forward to visiting the place in a week or so...

The pictures were taken on August 03, 2024.