It seemed like a good day to take a walk in our neighborhood woods to see what it looks like early in the spring. Recent storms had left us with over two inches of rain so we thought the creek might be nice and full. As we walked down the path towards the creek a hawk kept calling out, flying to and from its nest. Other birds were singing, too.
When I rise up
let me rise up joyful
like a bird.
When I fall
let me fall without regret
like a leaf.
~ Wendell Berry
(The Mad Farmer Poems)
(the ending of marcescence)
(my favorite childhood flower)
Finding that little bluet made my day! I wonder if there will be more of them as the season progresses. I’m used to seeing them in small clumps. Now we’re starting to see a few bugs flying around. Pretty soon it will be time to get the bug repellent out of the closet and leave it out next to the camera!
So nice seeing the ‘spring things!’
~fyi, that first white flower isn’t bloodroot, but I believe is Thalictrum thalictroides (syn. Anemonella thalictroides), the rue-anemone or windflower.
Happy Easter!
Thank you, Eliza. 🙂 My friend Janet pointed out my mistake and I edited it, but apparently not before you caught it, too! I hope you had a wonderful Easter, too.
What pretty Spring things — thank you for sharing them with us, Barbara. I don’t recall ever seeing a bluet or that warbler. Here’s hoping you have a Happy Easter!
I hoped you had a blessed Easter, too, Debbie! Our temperatures went up into the 80s! I have now learned that here in North Carolina bluets are called Quaker ladies. 🙂
I love that you got excellent photos of the yellow-rumped warbler! I’ve never seen one. Very nice poetry too! It looks like the trees are all so bare still. Our trees are all out with greenery except the cottonwood which really need water to survive. We are still in drought. Last week they started the stage two of water restrictions which means only allowed to water every other week (unless with a hand held hose with a cut off). I’m so glad we are in spring!
Thank you, TD! That was only the second yellow-rumped warbler I’ve photographed and I was amazed that it showed me all its sides before flying away! We have seen one sometimes outside our window in the bushes but it was nice seeing this one out in the woods. Sorry to hear about your drought, and so early in the year. We’re still getting more than enough rain but I know we had a drought towards the end of last summer. The creeks are full now and bubbling away.
Another lovely look at spring! Your bird photos are awesome; what did you use to photograph them? I laughed a bit to myself when I saw the yellow-rumped warbler – have you seen the meme about bird watching creeping up on you as you age? It says something like, “one day you’re totally indifferent to birds and then you’re like well I’ll be damned, isn’t that a yellow-rumped warbler?” 😀
Thank you, Karma! I have a Canon PowerShot SX60 HS camera. I love how I can zoom in and out without carrying around extra lenses, although I don’t think the pictures are as sharp as the ones I took with my bigger old camera with different lenses. I have never seen that meme before, but I love it! It’s so true. Now that I’m noticing birds they seem to keep appearing to me, even though they’ve probably been there all along. 🙂
I heard today that “the Carolinas” were experiencing a heat wave. Of course, we are experiencing rain, gray weather and a potential wintry mix for Wednesday/Thursday, so anything Spring-y looking, more colorful and warmer than our stats would be welcomed. A handful of he Bluet was so dainty – how nice to see it and bring back happy children You are really enjoying yourself in North Carolina Barbara and it shows in your photos.
Yes, Saturday and Sunday it got into the 80s and today and tomorrow promises more of the same. Nobody is calling it a heat wave, though. I think they save that term for when it gets into the 90s. Two days after this walk I took another one along the creek with a couple of friends and what a difference two days made — there were hundreds of bluets everywhere! Pictures will be coming in a couple of posts.
You had that warmth spurt helped those early flowers. Given the fact that we are going to have torrential rain all day tomorrow and thunderstorms as well, then Wednesday and Thursday a wintry mix, I thought today was when I should stroll around and get Spring flower pics. No telling how they will look by Friday. I’ll look forward to seeing more bluets.
Old man winter just won’t leave you alone!!! I hope whatever flowers are starting to bloom up there are hearty enough to withstand all the rough weather you’re having. Spring will come… spring will come…
I am still in a winter coat, scarf, hat and gloves and we’ve got these 35 mph winds again tomorrow. The flowers I took photos of on Monday were looking very bedraggled this morning from another torrential rain. Sigh.
I needed a winter coat yesterday, too, after that ‘heat wave.’ Our thermostat is set for AC and heat, one day the AC was running, the next the heat. We keep the windows closed to keep the pollen out of here. Hope your neighborhood flowers rally!
Our Tigers baseball home opener was today and I was looking at photos online and people were bundled up which was good as it started flurrying during the game. A few years ago, they had snow coming down heavily while the game was going on – they didn’t suspend it right away. My neighbor’s magnolia is in bud right now. We have days like that in May – furnace in the morning; A/C in the afternoon. So Connecticut felt the earthquake this morning, then there were aftershocks an hour or so ago.
On November 8, 2020 I experienced my first (and only) earthquake in Connecticut, but it was only 3.6 magnitude and centered near New Bedford, MA. The walls rattled and it felt like a helicopter was flying low over us. My friend in CT says she didn’t feel this one yesterday but others in her town did. I haven’t heard from my sister yet.
Some of those emergency helicopters fly so low it is scary. We had a 4.2 earthquake – I just looked and it was in May 2015. I remember that one and I was in the kitchen online and felt a rumble under my feet. I knew I was not imagining things and went to the front door – all the neighbors were out on their porches. No one was talking to others, but I knew it wasn’t my imagination then I didn’t have any damage, but dusting the hall ceiling a year or so ago I found a big crack in the ceiling and the top of the wall which I will have to repair and then paint over it. We had a minor earthquake about a year ago, that I didn’t feel as it was near Lake Erie Metropark … I had planned to go there the following day and had reservations about it, in case of an aftershock, but there was none. I hope Beverly didn’t have any damage.
Oh no, is it bug repellent time for you already? Those dratted mozzies, they’re everywhere!
For me, the little woodpecker is the star of this post. I think they are cute little birds, but I also watched the Woody Woodpecker movie this weekend when my grandson, Arlo, was here. ♡
I haven’t seen a mozzie (skeeter) yet but they should be showing up pretty soon, at least in the deeper woods. I think they spray for them in the neighborhoods so maybe we won’t see too many. 🤞 The cute little downy woodpecker is our smallest woodpecker. I haven’t seen the movie, I wonder if my grandchildren would enjoy it. ♡
You should ask the grandchildren if they’d like to watch the movie with you. 💕