Snow drops and Crocus

They come and go too quickly.

Monday Macros

Temps just above freezing, and abundant sunshine made my March morning marvelous.

Ice melt from the roof eaves on the burning bush.

The only flower blooming in my yard.

Lovely fungus.


Lovely lichens.



Interesting, tortured grape vine tendrils.

May Photo OCD

I have reached a milestone with my Canon Powershot - ten thousand photos in just over three years. The picture numbers start back over at 001. Who knew? It threw me for a loop, thinking I had lost some shots in the transfer, until I realized the numbers started over. If I've learned anything about photography, it's that you have to take a lot of pictures to get the right one, especially when trying to capture the intricate, delicate beauty of nature. I'll be posting mayapple blossoms as soon as I edit my two dozen pictures down to the best, which is so hard when they are all so lovely. I'm ready to retire this pocket camera for something with easier macro focus and a bigger screen so I can see what I'm doing. If you have a camera suggestion for me, I'd love to hear it.

Until then, I'll keep snapping pictures of whatever catches my eye or my imagination, which is just about everything I see. I'm gobsmacked by the patterns and colors and fleeting muchness of the world up close. The white trilliums fading to pink, the ferns unfurled, tiny weed blossoms smaller than a lentil, native viburnums budding out, perennials pregnant with blossoms, redbud hearts in the sky, an iris kaleidoscope - these are a few of the images I caught this May.

And so it begins...

Lightning came down the east and west side of this oak, spraying one foot chunks of bark fifteen paces away in a huge arc. The tree is split vertically down the middle at least 8 feet up, I suppose as the water vapor exploded into steam, and a small piece of bark is impaled into the wood as though from a tornado. An awesome display of instantaneuos, benign destruction. I will miss this tree. It was the oldest offspring of the three dying old ones.




But the forest floor is wakening, despite the cold and wind. Trilliums and Mayapples popped while I was away, and the large colonies of dogtooth violets. I'm partial to purple mottled leaves and shy blossoms.


The nanking cherry I bought as a twig is full of blossoms. Early bulbs are everywhere. Tulips that were small sprouts when I left are heavy and glorious now. I've filled vases.




It is all good, except for the dead tree, and that's just the way it is.

Oh, the Irony

Happy first day of Spring. Of course, the day before Spring was sunny and 60 degrees. A gift, I know. The first actual calendar day of Spring brings over 2 inches of snow and it's still coming, wet and windy.
And so it goes.




Hang in there, little buddies, may the snow keep you warm until this too passes.

Good Things

Thanks to Bethany over at Bloom, I'm having a grateful moment here in the frigid midwest. She reminded me of the new bulbs I planted that will bloom in a few months. Here are a few of my favorites from last Spring:






In less than 2 months, they will be back, this time with new tulips and alliums!

Here's another good thing, in a sideways and silly kind of way. Yesterday morning we had a rare earthquake in IL and I live 8 miles from the epicenter. Nothing cracked, nothing broken, just a few of my tinies fell off their shelves and luckily none broken. I've been collecting these since I was about 7 years old. They are my version of treasure:


See the tiny clay critters on the right? The horse and vulture both fell off the shelf but did not break. Those I bought in high school about a million years ago. I always thought I'd get crafty and make such things, but have not yet.

But feeling the earth move beneath you - it's mighty humbling and makes for some serious gratitude. Especially when it sounds like an explosion or bomb happening out your window. I live in a lucky time and place, and I am grateful.

Here's something that's good for me, but sucks for people I love. I'm not here:


Kinda funny, except they got an unprecedented 22 inches of rain last year following the worst drought in ages the year before that, with just under 9 inches. The weather is wreaking havoc on my homeland. Southern or slower Delaware doesn't get much snow, so they weren't prepared to handle the almost 2 feet they got, let alone the 2 inches of sleet on top of that. The news is awful, roofs are collapsing all over the place: Walmarts, Big Lots, churches, schools and over 50 chicken houses so far. Growing chickens is the economic mainstay in the area, besides farming. It is devastating. But my family is safe, and warm, and their roofs are holding, and the weather is letting up, thankfully, so they can begin to dig out.

So hooray for good things, and especially for sunshine and blue skies.



OK, one more good thing. Music. Music!! I'm not named Melody for nothing. I'm happy my music player at the bottom of this page pops out and can hang out with me all morning. Go ahead, help yourself. The little square on the top right pops it out so you can listen too, there's something in there for everyone. I've been enjoying the heck out of some other bloggers' music. Future post fodder.