Walking Through Springtime

 Let's follow the example of these waterfowl and take a walk through the late April- early May springtime. For Easter we went to visit family in PA and had a lovely walk around the St Vincent Lake and Ponds in Latrobe. What do you think of that black duck? Any idea of it's breed?

 In the ponds we found many nesting pairs of geese. While one sat on the nest the mate was always very close by keeping an eye out for intruders.

 Back home in VA the beautiful native dogwood in our backyard were at their finest on Easter Day when we arrived home.

 The bleeding heart was pretty wonderful this year also. I don't always remember to check this area of the garden but when a friend put up a photo on instagram of  her similar plant it reminded me to check mine.

 This was a surprise as we drove down the hill heading home on our return from PA. The lilac in the front garden was out in full bloom. This particular shrub had been somewhat of a dud for many springs now with only one or two blossoms right on top where they could not be seen. In 2017 we gave it a severe pruning and last year there were few blooms but this year, oh my, lots of bloom and fragrance.

 Where shall we look next? East or west?

 Staying back in the east I made a quick visit to Meadowlark Gardens again yesterday right after a 10 minute heavy rainfall around 4.30pm. But the sun came out again and I thought crowds would be light so I braved the rush-hour traffic and headed out. When I first arrived I thought there must be a wedding party there...until I noticed that all the "bridesmaids" were dressed differently. That's when the penny dropped and I thought "prom time". Fortunately for me they all stayed at the top of the hill to take their photos while I went down to the lake, the peony gardens and more. If you look back to my blog post of April 7 you'll see this lake looking quite different as it was then in prime cherry blossom season. But for now the only splash of color aside from all that green, is in those big orange fish in the foreground

 Strolling on there were pockets of beauty to be found around every corner. In addition to the flowers the variety of foliage colors adds to the spectacular spring display.

 I must remember to return when the water lilies bloom. For now though the occasional flag iris provide a spot of color.

 Just settle in and enjoy the view. No need to say anything.

 Unless you want to sigh over the great color combinations here in the planter bowl

 or outside the front entrance. That downpour had washed everything clean and made the colors light up.

Let's end this springtime walk with the clematis outside the dining room window. I was not the only one enjoying it a few days ago as you can see.

What's next in the garden you might wonder? Gee, the weeds are back bigtime again after some rain but I'm not going to show you those. But maybe some peonies...come back soon to find out.

As Cherry Blossoms Fade Bluebells Peak

After a terribly wet 2018 we have been rewarded with a spectacular spring season.

The cherry blossoms were oh so gorgeous but after a week and a bit they faded and gave way to the bluebells.

 Pretty cherry blossoms backlit by a pretty sundown.

 Cherry blossom confetti with daffodils in my front garden.

 A misty morning farewell to the cherry blossoms with the vibrant spring green foliage starting to takeover.

 Spring frogs in a pond at Riverbend Park.

 If you look carefully nature always has some surprises to reward you with like this white bluebell.

 The winter season had an over abundance of rain and the Potomac overflowed it's banks on several occasions. At Riverbend this spring walking on the main trails in certain spots is like walking on a sandy beach. See in this photo how the sand has washed up into a bank on the left side.

 The spring flower display at Riverbend has been absolutely glorious and I saw many plants for the first time. Chatter along the walkways was wondering if the big green leaf plants might be lily of the valley. I was doubtful because that is not a wildflower native in this area so pulled out my trusty "spring wildflower identification guide" that I purchased at the Riverbend visitor center last year. It gave me the correct answer that these plants are ramps/wild leeks and that they might bloom in June/July. Spring Beauty in the foreground is particularly abundant and pretty this season.

 My first ever sighting of a white trout lily - I saw several of the more common yellow version this year. This is not a particularly wonderful photo but I include it here to demonstrate something I learned this season. Walk slowly and keep your eyes focused on the ground...but also be alert for other folk with cameras who have stopped along the trail. Chances are they have seen something special and will point it out to you if you pause and open a conversation with them. In the same way I was able to pass along a tip as to the location of one of the biggest areas of Sessile Trilliums I have seen in several years (not shown in the interests of keeping from this post turning into a marathon).

 For our fourth walk among the bluebells this season we went to a new location for us: the Seneca Park which is a few miles upriver from Riverbend Park. It is more of a hike to find the bluebells and the paths are more narrow and prone to being muddy, but, oh yes, the bluebells there are just as wonderful this spring.

 I'm including this photo to see if I can get someone else to identify this wildflower. I found only these two stalks and could not see it on my identification chart. Do you know what this white flower in the foreground is?

 Along the riverbank walk at Seneca there are frequent small islands that separate the riverbank from the main Potomac River. On Wednesday when we we there the current was moving quite quickly and I spotted this one duck having a grand ride with not much effort. Note the abundance of bluebells on the small island in the background.

 The bluebells are very tenacious and will find a home just about anywhere along the riverbank. The trees are pretty tenacious as well and this one was at a good lean out over the river and was hosting a bluebell as a bonus.

 Its a bit of an uphill hike on the return from the riverbank to the parking lot but on a sunny spring day there is the added bonus of views like this.

Meanwhile, looking out over my own backyard my garden is rewarding me with bluebells, daffodils and dogwood all in bloom at the same time. Spring in Virginia is oh so pretty this year. The native dogwoods are moving into peak bloom as the bluebells fade after some unusually hot weather this past week.

A Cotton Candy Week

This has been peek week for the cherry blossoms around here. Although we love going to the tidal basin in Washington DC to see the trees there the reality is that it is super crowded. For a change of pace this year we tried to take in as many other locations as we could to view the trees when they were at their best.

 All the blossoms reminded me of cotton candy. On Tuesday morning this was how the cherry trees on my and my neighbor's front lawns looked. Each day I photographed them to chart the difference.

 On Wednesday we went to visit the National Arboretum in Washington DC. This is one of their oldest cherry trees. In the distance the unusual view is of 22 columns relocated from the Capitol Building during building works in 1958 and later installed here.

 It was a sunny but windy day. Outside in the Asian bonsai collection but still sheltered from the wind the sun created effective shadows for my photo.

 The camellia collection on a shady hillside within the Asian Collections included these beauties.

 A closer view of the Capitol columns. The shadows created at this angle are amazing. What do you see in them?

 On Thursday we made a quick visit to nearby Lake Ann.

 The purpose of that outing was to see the Van Gogh bridge there...but lots of other people had headed there with the same purpose. This is the bridge but not quite from the aspect I had planned.

 Over the other side of the bridge was this calmer view.

 Today's outing was to Meadowlark Gardens Regional Park. The daffodils looked pretty with the old garden bench as a backdrop

 Now I am not a pink person but, for this week, I can try hard to like it. For instance the contrast of the magnolia blooms in front with the cherry trees behind is beautiful don't you think?

 A view of the gazebo on the lake with plenty of cherry trees and another magnolia here in the foreground.

 Meadowlark is a popular venue for weddings. Here we see nature's confetti - petals from the cherry blossoms above create a ground cover around the vivid pink of the hyacinth.

This goose stood patiently for quite some time posing. Children were trying to entice it by throwing crumbs but it steadfastly ignored them.

I call this one "heading home". Pink was on many minds it seems. The grassy areas in the park are still in the winter weary stage as is evident from many of the shots but I just could not resist taking this photo anyway. The elderly gentleman was also busy in several other locations within the park taking photos but it was time to head up that hill and get home before the forecast change in the weather.

In closing I wanted to again show you the cherry trees on my lawn. Wind and some potentially heavy rain are predicted in the next 18 hours or so. Who knows how much of the "cotton candy" will be left on the trees after the storm has rolled through.

It is such a short season but once the cherry blooms have peaked and passed something else will burst into bloom to replace them. I'm expecting that to be the dogwoods so come back soon to see.

Try Harder Please Spring

 So, yeah, today is the second day of spring, or so they say. This time last year I also put up a blog post. If you go back and look I also opened it with a photo of one of the front yard cherry trees. For this year you can see it is pouring rain. Go check what was happening last year...

 On this rainy day today a couple of deer were out enjoying the first succulence of spring foliage.

 The ornamental plum tree out front finally burst into bloom on March 17, a sunny day.

 And the maple trees are budding and getting ready to release their greenery for the season.

 But, oh, the rain today. Puddles galore as you can see.

 My garden must be a cold one. Other gardens around have had daffodils for almost a week now. I have waited and watched and was looking forward to these ones coming out - the only ones showing any promise of bloom. They chose today to open up when it was too wet for me to go outside and get a closer look.

 The hellebores, often out as early as December, are finally opening up.

 The moon is on my mind lately as our art group will be having an exhibit in June themed around the moon  to celebrate the 50th anniversary in July of the Apollo 11 flight and astronaut Neil Armstrong taking the first steps by a man on the moon surface. However, taking good looking photos of the moon is not so easy. Here is the full worm moon which this year coincided with the spring equinox. I think my piece of art might be created with fabric.

 Looking forward,  leaves in the bluebell patch in my garden have poked their way above the soil. I eagerly await the blooms to come.

To close out this rainy day a good cup of tea hit the spot.