2022/3/25 - JC RAULSTON ARBORETUM

It's the start of pollen season, so I came out to the local arboretum to see what's blooming, and, more importantly, who's come to visit. I made the mistake of standing still for 10 seconds, and already a fine mist of pollen was sparkling on the back of my camera. I briefly look at a notification on my phone. Pollen on the screen. My watch, pollen. Pollen in the trees. Pollen on the bees. I check my watch again. I scrape off a layer of pollen to see the time. It's not coming off. I scratch harder and the entire watch crumbles into a fine green dust.  I go to pull out my phone again but my pocket is only full of pollen. My camera is gone but there is a pile of pollen beside me. How can there be a pile of pollen beside me? The entire ground is a pile of pollen. Everything is pollen. I am pollen.

A crowd of fat, fuzzy carpenter bees came out to suckle the gorgeous redbuds - however, as a pink fan, I would like to formally file a complaint with the colourblind individual who named these trees. Still a bit early in the year, there wasn't a lot else in bloom yet, so I spent most of my time watching the lady bees do their thing. There was also a good amount of American Robins, which is good, and European Honey Bees, which is bad, because xenophobia is a positive trait in nature preservation. I'll be back again in a bit to see what new flowers and friends arrive when it truly warms up.