I watched in total awe of Mother Nature as the orange buds opened into the most beautiful, complex, and delicate flowers.

In my quest to gather as much information as possible about how oranges get from tree to table, I learned that there are two main types of oranges: summer oranges and winter oranges.

The web site yarden.com advises:

“Navel oranges are an example of winter oranges. Navel orange season is in the winter, meaning they can be ripe for eating from November to June. This winter orange peels easily and is generally regarded as one of the world’s best-tasting oranges.

Valencia oranges are an example of a summer orange. The Valencia is typically harvested starting in March and continuing through September. Named for the city of Valencia in Spain, Valencia oranges are prized for their high juice content and availability outside of the typical citrus season.”

I now know that our tree bears winter oranges.

Photo Note: With all three photos in my feature photo collage, I had to correct the white balance due to use of the Moment macro lens hood. Each one also needed post processing to attempt to clear up as much of the motion blur as possible. Even the slightest breeze or the gentlest touch of a nearby branch, causes these fragile little buds and flowers to quiver. I think next year, I’m going to try a little video during blossom time and then isolate a still from the video. I know this works well for butterflies in motion, so why not for fluttering flowers? Once again, my hindsight is a perfect 20/20.

“Did you ever sleep in a field of orange-trees in bloom? The air which one inhales deliciously is a quintessence of perfumes. This powerful and sweet smell, as savoury as a sweetmeat, seems to penetrate one, to impregnate, to intoxicate, to induce languor, to bring about a dreamy and somnolent torpor. It is like opium prepared by fairy hands and not by chemists.”

Guy de Maupassant