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# Morning Drops
- URL: https://www.soul-riot.com/morning-drops/
- Published: 2026-09-18T20:03:20.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-30T17:50:24.000Z
- Description: I love to start the day by stepping out into the backyard, with a cup of coffee.
- Author: Elena Corriero
- Tags: Bees, Flowers

Sometimes people - family, friends - ask me what I am doing here. Why do I stay?

Truth is, I don't really know. I know a few things that keep me here: listening to birdsongs through my open window, when I work in the morning; watching a goldfinch eat the seeds of the spent coneflowers; the crickets chirping loud at night, as I fall asleep. 

But what I like the most is to take a few minutes before work and start the day by stepping out into the backyard, with a cup of coffee (and maybe the camera). 

This morning, the light was finally bright after a couple of rainy days. Many of the Asters were still closed, their petals punctuated by dew. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/6f/eb6faa5c-5ec1-4a1f-9729-ab918987e2a2/content/images/2026/09/P9180020.jpg)

New England Aster (OM60mm Macro, f8, 1/200, ISO200 + GodoxV350 & AK Diffuser)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/6f/eb6faa5c-5ec1-4a1f-9729-ab918987e2a2/content/images/2026/09/P9180024.jpg)

New England Aster (OM60mm Macro, f8, 1/200, ISO200 + GodoxV350 & AK Diffuser)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/6f/eb6faa5c-5ec1-4a1f-9729-ab918987e2a2/content/images/2026/09/P9180023.jpg)

New England Aster (OM60mm Macro, f8, 1/200, ISO200 + GodoxV350 & AK Diffuser)

The Goldenrods were heavy with the night's humidity and with all the insects - honeybees, carpenter bees, a moth - whose wings were still too sticky to fly. There were too many to count. 

The Goldenrods attract so many bees that, during the daytime, I have to keep some distance. The airspace is really crowded, and I'd end up quite certainly on someone's collision course. But this morning everyone was still asleep, so I took the opportunity to get in their face (literally).

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/6f/eb6faa5c-5ec1-4a1f-9729-ab918987e2a2/content/images/2026/09/P9180019.jpg)

Honeybee on Showy Goldenrod

One male Carpenter Bee (you can tell he’s a male from the square patch on his head) was hanging on a lower branch, immobile. Bees don’t close their eyes when they sleep, but visual processing slows down, while their antennae droop and the wings fold flat against their body. This chubby guy (he was bending the whole flower down under his weight!) was likely still sleeping - or maybe just waiting to dry up. 

The droplets that covered him acted like a second magnifying glass, revealing the tiny light receptors in his compound eyes. Such a lucky shot! 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/6f/eb6faa5c-5ec1-4a1f-9729-ab918987e2a2/content/images/2026/09/P9180010.jpg)

I just hope that the flash didn’t wake him up.

Elena Corriero