Beginnings

When I spend my time taking photographs of the flowers that show-off in spring, I sometimes miss the less showy but also lovely trees. The first two below are the oak tree that stands 100 feet tall in my back yard. The last is one of the native maples that produce many of these "helicopters" which clog everyone's gutters.

In Like a Lion and Out Like a Lamb?

Except the lion and lamb are supposed to be in March, I thought. Below is a series of photos that I took from our dock when the last front was just beginning to push through. Please note that it looks far more foreboding and dangerous than it was. Just nice lighting!

Those square floaties are oyster rafts.

I do like taming the lion with the heart of a lamb!

The Primary Show-off

It is hard to take a bad picture of Mother Nature. The show-off this week is our hybrid pink dogwood tree. It sits off to the side of our front yard. Since no one but Insta-Cart drivers sees its beauty these days, I will share it with my readers.

For Christians:  "According to the story, it was the dogwood tree that provided the wood used to build the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Because of its role in the crucifixion, it is said that God both cursed and blessed the tree. ... The middle of the Dogwood flower has a tight grouping of  buds resembling a "crown of thorns.""

The wood is very hard and was used to skewer meet for cooking..."it was said that the term Dogwood could have easily evolved from the Celtic word dag, dagga, or dagwood over the years. The wooden dagge was simply a useful, pointed tool. The tight-grained wood contained no silica, so it was useful in cleaning small spaces that were easily scratched, such as in watches and jewelry. The wood is so hard that the finest weaving shuttles were made from it, and later, golf club heads. The botanical name Cornus reflects this quality, as it means horn, as in bull's horn."

My tree is at least ten-years-old and maybe a few more!  I grab my kitchen ladder and climb up it to take many of the photos. Spring is always windy, so it is hard to get the best focus.

You will note above that my camera focused on the wary Bluebird sitting on his nesting box that is on the other side of the tree instead of the flowers.

In a few days all these petals will be strewn hither and yon and only a pleasant memory. You are all in my thoughts and I am hoping you find some peace and shelter in this trying times. We will weather it!

The late afternoon sun brings out the best of its color. And after dozens of photos, I try some digital painting.

Rewards!!

Spring erupts so rapidly it is hard to keep up. I have posted a few more photos from my yard for those of you who may find it difficult to see this season right now. Of the many things I am thankful for while sheltering in place, spring is at the top of my list.

Does this "Bumbledore" look like he is wearing sunglasses? Maybe he is a celebrity bee?

We never get apples from this tree...never...the squirrels beat us to the harvest EVERY SINGLE TIME. But I am thankful for the lovely blossoms this week.

Above is a nasty invasive related to the mint family.  Still, I am thankful that the pollinators use it!

We bought this pink hybrid dogwood over 10 years ago shortly after moving into this house.  It has gotten very large and very rewarding over that time.

Some Native Reproduction

I have felt less creative which is no surprise. I have felt like just hibernating until the Corona Winter is all over. It will be, soon enough, I know. Today I felt more creative energy flooding my veins as I photographed my native Columbine that have scattered their progeny here and there on my flower bed! Below some digital paintings I want to share.

From My (Tu)lips to Yours

Just a few square feet on my back deck has become a paradise. I buy the bulbs on sale in the early winter from the big box store and then take about twenty minutes to plant them in good potting soil on the back deck. It is not much, but a terrific reward when I sit in my living room or when I wander out to the deck or crawl around on the deck for a better angle to capture them more permanently with my camera after the gray and brown winter. (That is my kaffir lime tree braced against the winds in the back.)

They are beautiful even in the gentle spring rains.

They are fun to digitally "Paint."

And they make a nice foreground to our spring sunsets when I am in a more flexible get down mood.

Hope this has brightned your day a bit.

Season of Despair/Despair Not

As the Irish poet, David White wrote, we have to understand despair as a season. Like all seasons it will move on and be replaced. These times may test us but we must concentrate on our breathing or seeing and our understanding of our place in the grand universe as all is temporary.

"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [l]arrayed like one of these. 30Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"  a familiar quote from the King James version.

Below some little white flowers that are not worrying.

Stuck at Home

I have enjoyed, as I do even when not sequestered at home, my spring yard. So many flowers are in bloom right now. The days are a bit of a roller coaster with temperature swings, but today is in the 50sF and we had a lovely soaking rain last night. Below are some of my beauties. Some are digitally painted and others just sharpened a bit. First are those that were planted months ago so that I could enjoy them this spring!

This one below is an old faithful shrub (Loropetalum) and seems to be even more beautiful this year!

Now for the wildflowers (weeds and invasives) that are what we mow and call our lawn...mowing after all the bees and pollinators are finished.

Hope all is big and small blossoms out your way!

You Think You Have Problems

One of the very swift hawks, perhaps a Coopers, came through this morning and my birds scattered everywhere from the feeders. A short while later this Cardinal showed up at the deck and seemed a bit dazed. I guess he has no means of clearing his vision!!

My Woods of Many Textures

My woods are Cornoavirus free and so I have taken some more 'texture' photographs. I find the twists, sweeps and crackles interesting. Did you know that oak trees are homes for over 500 species of insects? Many other trees, if native in your area, are the housing for so many beneficial insects that are in turn food for so many birds!

Above is the bark of the Hop Hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana).

My smooth crepe myrtle bark.

In the photo above a very large pine stands in the yard.

 

Something interesting and artistic above.  Something painful below.

Putting off work

Tonight we are having mussels that have come from Canada. We eat a lot more seafood these days. The fresh spring leeks in the woods will be cut to go into the coconut broth.

Before I cut them I check out the vernal pond on the land between my new neighbors and me just ahead and see that the frogs have started to lay their eggs in true spring form.

The red in the pond photo above is from the maple trees that are blooming overhead.

The birds are singing out territorial and mating songs as a multi-orchestra chorus. The air is cool but the warm sun on my back makes me smile and briefly forget that I have to go weed.