My youngest son met me at the Metro station near the airport. After a few complications we headed straight to, no, not the bonsai celebration...We headed for the best Neapolitan pizza in the District. Menomale in the Brookland neighborhood has won over his discriminating palate. The pizzas we shared were a perfect match of art and science, believable and artificial, form and function. Or wait, maybe that was the description for the miniature sculpted trees. The function was to fill my tummy with outstanding pizza fast!
At the National Arboretum we breezed past the bonsai t-shirt vendors, book-signing, and teeny souvenir bonsai tree sales. We had arrived! The buzz was audible.
Carpenter bees are active at the Arboretum. These large black bees make their nests in exposed wood, including timbers in the Bonsai Pavilion and various wooden signs on the grounds. These beneficial insects are active pollinators. They seem aggressive as the males try to protect their nests. They can not sting, but they try hard to intimidate you with belligerent buzzing. Try to be patient during the nesting season.
What is the WBFF? No, not boxing with forest friends. The World Bonsai Friendship Federation includes the North American Bonsai Federation, naturally. And World Bonsai Day is the second Saturday in May annually. Start planning your cake decorations for next year's party now.
© 2013-2015 Nancy L. Ruder
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