The backyard is full of flowers and green. Where last week there was brown and a few blossoms here and there, today there are blossoms where there hadn’t been buds two days ago. It is like Spring is making up for lost time! So this afternoon, a few of those blossoms were captured.
The willow trees are leafing out, and the branches are full of catkins. The wind was blowing today and the willow branches were moving and swaying. The contrast of the early leaf yellow and the blue sky was particularly beautiful. These were captured with my iPhone 7, the camera that is always with me, using the Slow Shutter App. Then Lightroom was used to add contrast and clarity.
Wind in the Willows 1
Wind in the Willows 2
Wind in the Willows 3
The wind and clod and snow did not destroy all the Spring Flowers! As I walked around my backyard today to see what survived. The Scilla, Daffodils, Glory in the Snow, Windflowers and Blood Root are beautiful. I am promised a very large crop of Bluebells looking at the buds. The Trout Lily and Celosia Poppy are filling the ground with green. Not many leaves on the trees yet. But maybe we’ve turned the corner from Winter.
Glory in the Snow
Glory in the Snow
Lenten Rose
Daffodil
White Windflowers
Purple Windflowers
Bloodroot
Spring is messed up in the Midwest this year. The plants thought Spring arrived a few weeks ago, but then Winter came back. So daffodils are bowing down from the cold, scilla are closing their petals in the cold, and muddy wet soil is frozen in places. This is not a good sign for spring flowers blooming in abundance!
My Mom and Grandma always said there had to be a snow on the yellow flowers before winter was over. I think we qualify today.
Bluebels To-Be under Snow
Blue Scilla Drooping in the Snow
Snow on the Yellow Flowers
Mini Daffodil with Snow
Tiny Swamp Oak Leaves
Snow Pattern on Grass
The flowers continue to grow and bloom. The trout lilies are beginning, the bluebells are in full bloom, poppies are beginning, and buds are forming on a number of late-spring flowers.
Most of these were taken with my iPhone 6s and edited with the Snapseed App. I’m still limited in movement, so crawling on the ground to get the best vantage point is not an option this year!
I love Spring Flowers! I’ve planted many native flowers as well as bulbs over the years. Every Spring I capture their beauty, usually crawling on the ground and using a macro lens. This year, some physical issues keep me from crawling and getting low, but the flowers called to me. These images were captured using a long telephoto lens so I could capture them standing up. It was a windy day, but I managed to capture between wind bursts.
I will have a major crop of Bluebells and Trout Lilies in the next few weeks. Perhaps then I can get down and grovel in the dirt and get images from a low point of view!
Spring was arriving. Green shoots were poking through the ground and dead leaves. A few early bloomers were showing off their color. And then, the Polar Vortex dipped south. The Polar Vortex and I have had encounters before.
Then the snow came. Not a lot, and it melted fast. But it is cold outside! The cold has made the daffodils wilt and buds are likely damaged.
And the little bit of snow brings photo opportunities! I had my iPhone 5s with me and I found interesting images in the snow.
Is this the last snow? Every year, summer arrives. 2016 will not be an exception!
These are a few of my favorite things….spring flowers! Every Spring, I get out to capture flowers as they emerge from the ground, bloom, and even die back. I have almost 900 in my Spring Flower catalog and was trying to find the best one for the Nature Challenge. These didn’t make the final cut, but they are some of my favorites.
Purple Crocus emerging from the snow
A bee finds the pollen on a Trout Lily
White, creamy Lenten Rose
A string of Bleeding Hearts
The Pink/Blue transition of Virginia Bluebells