2022/4/24 - JC RAULSTON ARBORETUM
THEATRICAL RELEASE

This is the Theatrical Release for this album, meaning I have included only the highest quality photos. I have trouble culling down even this far - because I get emotionally attached to the memories - but I do it all for you, the viewers. If this isn't quite enough photos for you, visit the longer Extended Edition at JC RAULSTON ARBORETUM APRIL 2022 - DIRECTOR'S CUT EXTENDED EDITION.

I thought maybe I could get a real parking spot this time if I arrived five minutes before opening. No, it was already full again. All these people have good taste. Many of the trees that were flowering in March were now a luscious green, with other plants newly blooming all over the garden. The beautiful redbuds (they are PINK) that the bees had loved last visit were now all incognito except for one last holdout. For a moment, I had a feeling of disappointment that I was not seeing as many bugs as I expected. Of course, I just needed to take a closer look. As soon as I spotted one Ladybug wandering around the Eggleaf Spurge, suddenly the spurge was full of them. Then there were a couple fat lady bees suckling on a flower which reminded me of bowtie pasta. Swallowtail Butterflies who were going absolutely bonkers wild in the beds and who would not rest a single moment for a photo.

I was quite impressed when I got to the rows of Field Mustard, as they had all been little wee sprouts, or perhaps not even planted, back in March. They were now pushing six feet and were a popular backdrop for people out shooting family and engagement photos. I spent a good long while waiting patiently for birds and skinks to grace me with closer appearances, but they all seemed too shy to reemerge after I startled them by existing. A flash of red caught my eye, and I was determined not to give up on one of my favourite birds before I got good shots. The male Northern Cardinal (there's really only one cardinal, but I like being specific) was animatedly hopping and digging around in the ground, looking for lunch. I must have waited for 20 minutes before he finally settled on a spot under a stone brick, tossing twigs and debris left and right with his beak. Eventually, he got fed up with my slow-motion inching and flew off, but I politely thanked him for his cooperation.