The meristem region of a red sunflower, still at waist height, rapidly growing in the rain.
Oh! And, yes! growing under the carefully watchful eyes of the sunflower's "gardeners"--a couple of black ants keeping a very close watch on its progress!
(See if you can find them )
I could have classified the image as "Nature," but this nature appeared to be more abstract.
The ants probably have it all understood, but all that I see here is abstract--way beyond my comprehension!
Angky

PS: I'll add a note for anybody who is interested in the equipment.
This DA 20-40 LTD lens is beginning to make a bit of an impression on me--changing some of my photography.
The newer DA 16-85 ED DC WR is a very fine lens with an excellent zoom range and pretty good light. But for an old creaky backbone, it is a heavy beast, even on a little K70.
I find the DA 20-40 far easier to manage (though lacking the zoom range). But when comparing the IQ on my camera, the newer 16-85, good as it is, just cannot match that smaller 20-40.
And as a "macro" lens (which it is not), for walk-around flower shots, the 20-40 almost moves the true macros (50mm or 100mm f:2.8) out of the kit!
Just a note for those who are interested...


[/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2oyg3pN]_IMG0809_RedSunflowerStem_Home_20230504[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/194322828@N02/]Angky MacLeod[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

[MikeNArk]

Thanks for pointing out the two black ants. I had trouble seeing them initially. Abstract is fine with me. After all, I had no idea of what I was viewing until reading your narrative. The 20-40 does a good job in this capture. Nice and interesting shot.

[angkymac]

Thanks for pointing out the two black ants. I had trouble seeing them initially. Abstract is fine with me. After all, I had no idea of what I was viewing until reading your narrative. The 20-40 does a good job in this capture. Nice and interesting shot.

You found those ants!
Great! Good eyes you have!
There might be more ants, but I haven't found them yet.
I agree with you on the abstract--very puzzling image, but once understood, it has some interesting info on how the sunflower meristem works.
Thanks for the note.
Angky