Addicted

"There has been international shock and condemnation today as news broke that the entire Apis mellifera team has been expelled from the AOG and given an eight-month ban, after it was discovered that they are all hopelessly addicted to Passiflora caerulea nectar. AOG officials have had to drag some bees bodily from the passion flowers in order to eject them from the stadium, and fights have broken out between officials and Team Apis members, and even between the honey bees themselves. It isn't clear whether the unusually slow flight of the expelled bees is due to their reluctance to quit the source of their drug, or the fact that passiflora is a natural soporific. A Bombus pascuorum spokesbee said that passiflora use had no place in the modern Olympiad, though some Twitter users pointed out that she herself was slightly glassy-eyed, and appeared to be dusted with passion flower pollen. The Alternative Federation has promised a full and frank enquiry into the scandal."

Not much to report today: gardening; chasing bees around with a camera; financial stuff; more gardening; more admin.; dinner; slumping in a heap. This isn't my best bee flight shot - I've added that as an extra. I'm running out of extras....

And now: Mono Monday results. This one was obviously trickier than the previous two challenges, because there were only 103 entries; but although a few of you pointed out that it's not strictly possible to photograph sound there were some clever interpretations of the theme. I've chosen entries which appeal to me as photographs, while also conveying the idea of sound in some way.

My hearts this week go to:

GracieG - this is a beautiful image, and highly evocative: I can almost smell that train, as well as hearing it. A lovely composition, and a great use of what could be tricky light.

Skeena - what makes this photo for me is the contrast between the sharp focus on the plant and the bee antennae, and the blur of the wings. Can you hear the buzzing?

greg_lovett - this is such a clever image that I only partly understand how he created it, but it works as a piece of art and also conveys the theme beautifully.

Freyjad - several people riffed on the sound of silence (and did it well), but of all those images this is the one that has the most resonance for me; partly because of the social history, and partly through a personal family connection. It's also beautifully shot.

kellynicol61 - I don't know how she got that poor retriever to pose for this shot, but I think some extra liver treats are in order now. It's a fun shot - and a good photo too. Including dogs and making me laugh are always good ideas!

My Honourable Mentions this week go to:
Tiebreaker
Missycat3
60Plus
chrissel
Inverculain

And finally I'd like to give a Special Mention to Wildwood and her granddaughter Julia. Technically  Wildwood kind of disqualified herself by not taking the photo, but I can't believe that anyone will mind that when they look at Julia's lovely face and read her story. It puts things like photo challenges into their proper perspective.

Next week's theme will be Smell, and the tag will be MM135.