May Flowers

After the recent exuberance of peonies, I felt I should share the beauty of some of the wild flora that has to compete against such glorious extravagance, along with some of the less in-your-face commercial crops. 

Peonies

Commercial peony cultivation is a thing locally. I mean, really locally. Every year I wander out and take lots of photos of peonies in all their glory and every year I tell myself that I have more than enough photos of peonies and really don't need to take any more. But every year I wander out and take lots of photos of peonies in all their blowsy glory.

Here are some of this year's peonies.

 

Red Kite Mating Flight

At least, I assume it was a courtship ritual. It looked like it. They were a long way away and up, but here are three photos that captured some of the detail.