It’s that time of year again when the trees get into the act of putting on color. The Carolina Silverbell and the Red Maple compete for space. The Ruby Chestnut tree blooms for the first time. It was raised from a seed. And of course the late tulips are still there.
We are just past that time of spring. When the trees are showing their colors and before the green takes over. It is a subtle, pastel, wonderful one week of the year. Then everything turns dense and green. Of course there are the tulips, floating in space.
With mid-spring the birds are beginning to return. I thought last year when I saw a Woodcock it was a one time event. But this spring it is back. Maybe we have a regular resident. The sitting duck is also back. It has yet to produce young.
Frost is still in the ground but the early Hyacinth push purple and blue. Other white flowers waste no time and go from flower to seed in a few days. The bee takes advantage of a warm sun.
We have had a couple of wonderful days. Glen and I drove north to see the snow geese. And I am attempting to image a few more birds. The Blue Birds are back and cooperated. This woodpecker got a few last bugs out of this Tree of Heaven before I cut it down. This winter I have declared war on Trees of Heaven and multi-flora roses. The Blue Heron struck a pose in the valley and gave me several impressionistic images.
I will post this ‘found art’ without further comment except to quote Glen: “Now we know where circuit boards come from.”
It’s that time of year again, when we celebrate late winter, or is it early spring, with the early small moments of flower in the cold brown of the almost thawing ground.
Trees are coming into their own. And some are leaving and producing flowers as they exit. The old peach tree, cut down a couple of years ago is flowering fungus roses. Ones from spring and ones from winter are shown here. The Dawn Redwood trunk is beginning to form its distinctive shape and color.
It is not quite time for the Onion Snow. Perhaps it’s an early precursor to it and is called Witch Hazel Ice when the strengthening early morning sun blends with winter ice to create a longing for the coming season.
It was a frosty morning and I was photographing the ice on the witch hazel when I was seduced by the cardinal again. But then I noticed that the cardinal was not worried about me but a more formidable foe than a camera, and it was sitting in the next tree. The ice will come in another post.
