Rose of Sharon

The Rose of Sharon that Mom sent a couple of years ago just started blooming again...and the blooms are almost as big as my head! I have four of the plants along the fence in the backyard.

There were many bees buzzing around today, and I took a chance to get a closer look. They were so busy collecting pollen that they didn't seem to notice me. But then I realized that I was so close that the lens of my camera was literally blocking their exit from the flowers, and I thought...that's probably not wise. It was worth it to see the tiny specks of pollen clinging to the bees' bodies.
And I discovered why I have cicada killer wasps in my yard: copious amounts of cicadas!!! Just look at this pile of shells I found under one of my trees! (And there were lots more...my hand just wasn't big enough to hold them all.)