Basking
The snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) from two weeks ago are in full bloom.
Several years ago, my mom gave me a clump of snowdrop bulbs. I planted them in a spot where they are obviously happy, and they have been spreading ever since.
Here is the same clump in sunshine. I even saw a honeybee on them yesterday!
We're having a week of lovely warm and sunny weather. Of course, when I say "warm", that's Michigan lakeshore warm. The temperature has crept up to 60 F (about 16 C) a couple of times.
We've been outside in our short sleeves in the sunshine cleaning up the dead raspberry canes and goldenrod stems almost every day.
Tomorrow's forecast is for rain and snow with a high in the 30s (0 C), so now is the time to soak up the warm and sunny.
I love wandering around the yard searching out the early flowers. First sweet violet:
A clump of daffodils that was barely an inch high a week ago:
The very first rosette of columbine leaves:
Green everywhere!
One of the wonderful things about being outdoors with the camera is serendipitous pictures. While I was walking around looking for green leaves, I heard the unmistakable rolling kerroooo of the sandhill crane, Grus canadensis, overhead.
They were relatively low, and they were circling to wait for a trailing group of five to catch up.
I zoomed in as much as I could, and I couldn't resist cropping just one crane all by itself.
I've been folding origami since I was about nine or ten, and I always called the back of the origami crane the tail. Most crane-folding instructions call that part the tail also. It wasn't until I started seeing sandhill cranes that I realized those are really their trailing legs!
When it gets dark enough and cool enough to send us back indoors, I've been taking some time to try some of the braiding patterns from Mark Campbell's 1867 Self-Instructor in the Art of Hair-Work, which I downloaded from Google Books.
Isn't he great? I love him to pieces. My braiding stand is not half so fancy, though.
I made mine using a sheet of thick white craft foam, a pencil, a compass, and a protractor. But it seems to work as well as Mr. Campbell's.
Now it's time to get outside in more of that sunshine!
Labels: birdwatching, gardening, Michigan weather, spring
posted by Alwen | 9:54 AM
8 Comments:
Very nice braid! I may have to download that book, myself -- I have a kumihimo disc like that, and it would be nice to do more with it...
Awesoms shots of the birds! I didn't realize they flew in vees like geese. How handsome they are!
A book of hair work? I've seen some exquisite horse hair belts and bridals. Wonder if that's the technique?
Your snowdrops are so pretty! I have only one crocus in my flower bed. I have no idea how it got there, it just appeared a few years ago. I need to plant more.
Soon my spring beauties (claytonia virginica) will bloom, and that's how I'll know it's really spring. Today's weather certainly wouldn't clue a girl in.
oh I love snowdrops so much!
One of the things that seems so very north american to me is migrating birds. We just don't have that here. It's such an intriguing phenomenon!
Beautiful photos of spring! I must say that I envy you a bit - we had more snow last night...
Love the cranes. Love love love them.
I saw one once in Central Park (go figure). I stopped and stared at it for an hour.
I'm so jealous that you got to see an entire flock in flight.
lovely pictures.. it makes the heart so warm and fuzzy... spring really is coming.
Are sweet violets actually sweet? We have tiny white ones that smell heavenly, but the standard purple kind don't smell at all.
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