Earthshaking discovery!

Apples grow on trees! How amazing. It was her first time to learn that, and I was lucky enough to have my camera out when it happened. She very carefully climbed a fence near the tree, sniffed the little green apples, touched them, felt their hardness, and did not break any off because I said "Not yet, they're not ready yet. They're still babies, still growing." She got it.

All day she kept remembering, reflecting on it. "Apples," she would say. "On trees."

I've been shooting into the sun at the suggestion of James Ravilious, and yesterday I tried it with a very fast shutter speed, trying to get the blowing hair in the breeze, and I took one of my favorite pictures I've ever made of Bella. The highlights are a little bit blown out, but I love her concentration. She was peeling sticker-decals off her fingernails. And when she got that done she said again, "Apples. On trees," with a giggle. How can this be? And what else might possibly grow on trees?

I loved your comments on that last one and still want to respond to more of them, so comments remain off here. Just go marvel yourselves at what grows on trees. Happy summer to everyone in the northern hemisphere. Apples. On trees. Astonishing.