Early in Spring when lots of species of lilies are blooming, one gets used to spotting petals and sepals in threes, characteristic of the Liliaceae and related families. On this particular day, I haven't seen any lilies, but my tulips are dropping their petals and near the end of their season, so this ovary (top photo) stood out as I walked by. Had to run and get the camera. Then, a short while later, my son and I were walking down Main Street and he spotted this Maple seed cluster (middle photo) in which the seeds usually come in twos. How he spotted this threesome I'll never know. It was probably the only one on the tree. I took a break after putting these two photos aside, and while sitting on my front stoop, I noticed a bunch of tiny blue flowers (bottom photo). When I checked them out with my hand lens, I saw another three! Granted, these have four petals, but three are large and one is small, so the three stood out. Maybe only because my mind was already set for seeing threes. My hypothesis may or may not bear out, but I do know I was primed, as usual, for looking very closely at small things. A few more photos from my afternoon walk will bear this out. I'll post them in a little while.
Early in Spring when lots of species of lilies are blooming, one gets used to spotting petals and sepals in threes, characteristic of the Liliaceae and related families. On this particular day, I haven't seen any lilies, but my tulips are dropping their petals and near the end of their season, so this ovary (top photo) stood out as I walked by. Had to run and get the camera. Then, a short while later, my son and I were walking down Main Street and he spotted this Maple seed cluster (middle photo) in which the seeds usually come in twos. How he spotted this threesome I'll never know. It was probably the only one on the tree. I took a break after putting these two photos aside, and while sitting on my front stoop, I noticed a bunch of tiny blue flowers (bottom photo). When I checked them out with my hand lens, I saw another three! Granted, these have four petals, but three are large and one is small, so the three stood out. Maybe only because my mind was already set for seeing threes. My hypothesis may or may not bear out, but I do know I was primed, as usual, for looking very closely at small things. A few more photos from my afternoon walk will bear this out. I'll post them in a little while.
No comments:
Post a Comment