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Here and There…Now and Then |
Reflections, Again
Just over two months ago I posted a photo that I titled Reflections. It was the back entrance to the office building where I work and it was mostly a study in gray and brown. Well, this morning I was struck by how different it looks now, with blue and enough green to be quite cheerful. I reflected on the reflections and decided I’d take and post another picture.
Daffodil 'Actaea'
Myosotis (Forget-Me-Not)
Here are two flower pictures to welcome April, 2012. First, a really nice poeticus daffodil called ‘Actaea’ that are growing alongside our front walk. They are later than the big yellow ‘Marieke’ daffodils which is nice because we have blooms for a longer period that way. I really like the big, white petals on this one. There’s another variety with even better color on the edge of the cup but this one is pretty good.
Then, I have a picture of forget-me-not, one of the Myosotis species, but I’m not sure which. We have a large patch of these in the back yard and Cathy has just moved a few of them to the front under the cherry tree. Hopefully they will do as well there. The flowers are quite happy. I’ve only just realized this year how much blue we have in our garden.
Anemone blanda
Lots of things in bloom right now and I’ll put up a few more tomorrow but for now, here’s a little flower that I like. It is Anemone blanda ‘Pink Star’ and there are a few of them trying to compete with the gooseneck loosestrife, which will ultimately win unless something is done to protect the little ones.
Katie and Emily
It was history night at the lower school this evening and although Dorothy hasn’t taken part in five years, I wanted to go anyway. It’s a fun time and I love seeing the kids dressed in their various period costumes. Here are the two third grade teachers, Katie and Emily, hamming it up.
Hannah and Dorothy
Dorothy had a half day at school today. She and her good friend Hannah went out for lunch after school and I picked them up a little before 3:00. Hannah went with Dorothy to her art lesson and that’s where this picture was taken. Dorothy teacher buys silk to use in her art work and gave Dorothy the small scraps of silk used to tie up the pieces, which is what Dorothy’s using as a mustache.
Flowering Almond
We have this little flowering almond in our front garden. It never seems to get bigger than about four feet and it died to the ground a few years ago. This winter was milder than average so it’s doing quite well. Maybe it will do better this year. Anyway, it has very double flowers about half an inch across which are quite lovely. Imagine a tree full of these.
Wilted Tulip
The forecast was for a frost overnight and our thermometer read 27°F this morning. The ground is warm and I don’t expect any significant damage to plants and flowers in the yard. This tulip, the only one of ours that is actually blooming so far, didn’t appreciate the cold, though.
Redbud Slippers
I’ve always thought that Redbud (Eastern Redbud, in this case, Cercis canadensis) is misnamed. On the other hand, neither Purplebud nor Pinkbud sound quite right. I never noticed before how much these little flowers look like pink slippers, though. Pretty neat.
<em>Anthrenus verbasci</em><br />(Varied Carpet Beetle)
I wasn’t particularly pleased to find this tiny beetle in my house today. It is a varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci and it is quite small (those are millimeter markings on the ruler next to it). Fairly common, apparently, I had never seen one before. Not as bad as finding termites, perhaps, or even having a problem with wool eating moths, it’s still not something you want when you have “treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy.”
Lucky Cat
We moved the new aquarium into the kitchen today and got it situated. As you can see, it doesn’t have any water in it yet, that will come. For now, it’s home to a lucky cat and some Clementines.
…It’s Raining Violets (and cherry blossoms, bloodroot, kale, periwinkle, spiraea, and forsythia, among many other things. Here are some examples, along with water droplets on blades of grass. Surface tension is a wonderful thing.
Hydrangea quercifolia (Oakleaf Hydrangea)
Last year I planted an Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) in a shady part of the front yard. It’s doing well and leafing out and I like the lines of the emerging leaves.
Scilla siberica var Spring Beauty
The flowers have been nice so far this spring and they keep on coming. I didn’t plant as much scilla as some of the other things and now I’m wondering why. It’s a pretty little thing. Siberian Squill, Scilla siberica var Spring Beauty.
Cherry Blossoms
Well, they are mostly out and looking good. This is one of the two cherries in our yard. The other hasn’t started to come out yet, which is actually nice because it means we get a longer period of bloom.
White Flowers
I like this picture. To me, although its a fairly good likeness of these flowers, it actually makes it hard to see what they are. It’s the size, I guess. the photo makes them look big to me, like they are camelias or something. Actually, they are each about 3/8 inch across. It is a spirea in our back yard.
Wascally Wabbit
Shh. Be vewy, vewy quiet. I’m hunting wabbits.
I came home to find this fellow chomping away in our garden this evening. No, it didn’t go after it with the rake a la Mister McGregor but I can’t say the thought didn’t cross my mind.
Bradford Pear Trees
The Bradford Pear isn’t really the best tree for lining a road. Not long term, anyway. They get to a certain size and then start breaking apart. This time of year, though, they make a pretty impressive display.
Soaring
I took a two minute break today and stood at my office window enjoying the clouds and the multitudes of green that are beginning to appear on the other side of the parking lot. Looking up I saw this hawk circling overhead, looking for a meal.
A few of my very favorite flowers. Muscari are terrific. I only wish they were around longer. Even more fleeting are the beautiful white flowers of bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. I’ll try to get some pictures of the flowers tomorrow morning while they are still open. Soon they’ll be gone and the interesting hand shaped leaves will open up. There were lots of birds out this afternoon. A cardinal was singing off and on all day. There were also a bunch of chickadees around but only one got close enough for a picture.
… and pinks and whites. The first of these was actually taken yesterday but the rest were from today, all in our yard. I love Chionodoxa (Glory-of-the-snow, so-called because it blooms early when it’s still cold, except is hasn’t been). I’m particularly fond of the blue varieties but this pink one is nice and has the added advantage of being tall enough to bloom above the Pachysandra. Most varieties are too short for that.
