When I picked up the honey to put it in the microwave to liquefy it,
I saw the pattern at the bottom.

Now I have to keep it in its solid "sugared" state...
which is what happens when you get honey directly from a beekeeper
and it hasn't been altered to prevent crystallization...
so that I can continue to experiment with the focus
in hopes of getting an image that shows the depth.

When I touch the bottom of the heart,
the walls of the shape come halfway up my finger.
This is a quart jar, once filled with fireweed honey.

The beekeeper knows which flowers the bees are getting their pollen from
during each period between harvests.
I tasted each of the samples at the fair and considered this the richest and mellowest.

Fireweed is the knee-high, single-stemmed plant with bright yellow flower
that appears "miraculously" out of the ground,
where it never grew before,
after a wildfire burns through.
Some post-fire plants are opportunists that seed an area after it is cleared by fire,
others can only be released from their hull by the superheat of a fire.

Did you know that honey does not deteriorate?
That it is said to be still good in the Egyptian tombs?
That you can use it on your body as a protective layer against invasion of germs?

I love honey, especially the kind that loves me back and gives me valentines!