Daily Bloom: Waiting/Visited
Every violet wild petunia flower gets one day. It opens at sunrise, offers up everything it has, and by early afternoon it drops. So each bloom is a little open door, waiting to see who comes. And this roadside "weed" is worth the wait: it feeds bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and raises the caterpillars of five different butterflies.
In Visited, someone answers the invitation: a tiny metallic green sweat bee. Sweat bees are the second-largest bee family in the world, with nearly 4,500 species, and they get their name because many of them land on people to sip sweat for the salt. This one came for pollen, though. She carries it home on brushes of hair on her back legs, to a nest dug right into the ground.
Nature is never still, even when it looks like it. Flowers open and fall, visitors come and go, and if I'm lucky and patient enough, I get to catch the moments in between. Waiting is the quiet before. Visited is the moment someone arrives.
The choice is yours: hang The Pair As Shot for a true before and after, or Mirrored as an art piece that tricks the mind. The two images look the same, but when you look closely, you'll see the truth. Two moments, caught in the same breath, showing what's happening whether we notice or not. Or choose the one that speaks to you.
This moment of noticing was intentional. The field beside my house burst with violet life, and I knew my morning wouldn't be complete until I spent some time frolicking amongst the blooms. This moment in particular is a great example of why I love burst shot. I noticed a bee burrowed inside and captured the moment it crawled out and flew away.
What we protect begins with what we notice. My noticing leads to The Wild Land Project.
About This Image
Common name: Violet wild petunia (Visited: with a sweat bee)
Scientific name: Ruellia nudiflora (Visited: with family Halictidae)
Location: Northern Belize
Collection: Wild Bouquet
Format: 2:3, a taller and slimmer print than most in the shop
Available as: Waiting, Visited, or The Pair (Mirrored, so the two flowers face each other, or As Shot)
