Late Spring/Early Summer

The surface of the river is dusty
with pollen.

The current flows both ways.

In sun and shadow,
fish go about their business--

above them, the dragonflies glide.

Red-Winged Blackbird

I had thought I was too close to the city to see any red-winged blackbirds around here, but yesterday I went to a park that's only a few miles away from my house. It's mostly a marsh, which was lots of fun, all slooshy and smelly and flat, but there was also a pond which was almost completely covered with pond scum and featured frogs, tall reeds and a pair of blackbirds. (Well, there were many birds, actually, but I only saw the red patch on one.)

Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera, but I could only have photographed the pond scum anyway. The frogs were not visible - only audible - and neither I nor my digital camera are fast enough to catch a bird.

The park also had various flowers that I don't know the names of, and many large honeysuckle bushes. I didn't know honeysuckle was a wild plant, but these were certainly out on their own. There was pink honeysuckle as well as yellow, which I've never seen before.

It was a lovely day.

The Aprium

An aprium is a cross between an apricot and a plum. They look a lot like apricots, and are very tasty, if you like apricots and plums, which I do.

The Internet informs me that pluots are also a hybrid of apricot and plum. I didn't know that. I've never actually tried a pluot but now I will have to. Furthermore, both apriums and pluots are derived from another hybrid: the plumcot.

Isn't genetic engineering wonderful?