It's been a slow spring. Winter had real bite this year and has lingered into what is normally better weather. Nonetheless, the first spring buds and even a few flowers have started to appear. There are certain buds I watch for. My favourite tree/bush, the serviceberry, puts out some of the prettiest buds, then blossoms, of all our plants.
The first serviceberry buds I shot were on March 22:
Serviceberry buds
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)Later, I caught up to them again on a rainy early spring day on March 31:
Serviceberry and Raindrop
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)The first actual flower I spotted in the garden was a blossom on this low-lying lamium, March 28:
Lamium Blossom
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)The drizzly rain drove us crazy for a few days, but it also provided many photo-bops, as in these raindrops on a dogwood branch:
Dogwood & Raindrops
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)On one of my harbour walks, I spotted my first, fresh-looking clover leaves at the base of rose plants growing at the marina, April 3:
New Clover
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)And the roses themselves were regenerating into a new season:
Roses, New Growth
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)On April 8 the false spirea under our kitchen window had just enough foliage in the new sprouts to provide me with some interesting macro shots:
False Spirea Sprouts
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)While I was at it, I shot an ultra macro of the spirea shoots using a Zuiko 100mm + a reversed Zuiko 50mm lens on the Digital Rebel, April 8:
False Spirea Sprouts, Ultra Macro
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)The next day, April 9, I noticed this single lilac bud back lit in the mid-afternoon sunshine:
Lilac Bud
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)Later, our back deck resident put in his first appearance:
Chipmunk
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)Although slow in developing, spring is here!
(12-Apr-2004, Revised 17-June-2004)
www.NorthernJourney.com -- gene@wilburn.ca