Bee Heaven

Near our goldfish pond in our backyard I planted a Zumi Crabapple tree. This tree is not native to Missouri, and is probably some sort of Hybrid Crabapple, but without a doubt it is one of my favorite trees. It is a relatively small tree, standing at about 15 feet high. It has a beautiful symetrical shape. In the spring it blooms gorgeous pinkish/white blooms. These blooms attract hundreds of honey bees. They swarm it all day eating their fill of nectar. I spend hours watching them, and photographing them. Once the blooms fall, then the tree leafs out in pretty deep green leaves. Then in the fall we have these beauitful red "crabapples" all over the tree. The leaves turn a pretty burnt orange color. The contrast of the leaves with the berries makes a gorgeous autumn show. I look forward to the first blooms this spring to see if the honey bees come back in large numbers like years past. Hopefully the cold frosty nights won't damage the blooms.