Brookside Azaleas

The azaleas were glorious at Brookside Gardens last week. The day was cloudy – the best we could do with the weather pattern that seems dominated by rainy days recently. I got 3 selective focus shots that I liked - successfully tricking the automatic focus algorithm of my point and shot Canon Powershot SX710 HS to create the image I wanted. There were dark pink with the same color blurred in the foreground and side,

Light pink with some purple azaleas making the blur in the foreground,

And yellow azaleas with yellow blur in the foreground bottom and sides.

I also tried pictures of azaleas with other plants – like these flowers that had fallen onto a bed of ferns

And some that were blooming next to a pine.

While I was photographing the azaleas near the pine – I noticed a relative of the azaleas that also blooms this time of year – a rhododendron.

Even though the clouds were pretty thick – it was bright enough to see the reflection of azaleas in the pond.

Everywhere we walked was full of azalea color. If it has been drier – the benches would have been used! Walking around it was still a celebration of springtime in Maryland.

Intimate Landscapes - April 2016

I skipped February and March for an intimate landscapes post (after Eliot Porter’s Intimate Landscapes book available online here) but am starting them again this month.

In the roots and moss on a path in Centennial Park – I saw a parallel to crossroads on a map or visualized a decision at the fork of a road that has been taken by others but not enough to wear away the moss.

Low growth thrives at the base of a tree and surrounds a stump. A Jack-in-the-Pulpit is blooming there too.

The skunk cabbage surrounds the trees along a now hidden stream and the ferns are filling in the remaining spaces under the trees.

The thick oxalis almost overwhelms the cairns when the sun is shining (the plant’s flowers close up at night and cloudy days). Other plants cover other items with their foliage. The lighter green in the background will be pink lilies later in the summer.

Here an old stump provides a dark backdrop to the pink and yellow of spring flowers.

Thundercloud Plum

Our Thundercloud Plum tree blooms at the same time as the cherry tree and is overshadowed by white frothy blooms of that tree just beside it. The blossoms of the plum are smaller and pinker than the cherry…and the leaves (purplish red) seem to come out more quickly than those of the cherry.  These pictures were taken on March 25^th.

I looked back at other posts about the Thundercloud plum and saw that the tree was blooming on April 12^th in 2013. That must have been a last spring because by April 12^th of this year the Thundercloud Plum was full of leaves with the flower petals gone for a couple of weeks.

National Arboretum at the end of March 2016

Last week we walked around a small part of the National Arboretum. The day was sun and the sky was a great backdrop to the spring greens of these new leaves

As well as the evergreens with cones on their branches.

There were a lot of trees in bloom.

The camellias were nearing the end of their season

Leaving a carpet of temporary color at the base of the trees.

We were a little late for the deciduous magnolias but I enjoyed the walk through the section of the arboretum anyway.

The trees still had plenty of color at eye level

And looking up.

One tree only had three blooms left – but one seemed perfect to me.

Or maybe this pair are the best. It’s hard to choose.

There were several kinds of white deciduous magnolias blooming as well.

Sometimes the seed pods left after the petals fall away are as interesting as the flowers!

March Sunrise…and Sunset

The horizon around our house becomes blocked by trees after March – so this is probably one of the last sunrise/sunset posts from our home until late fall/winter rolls around again. Even in winter the bare tree branches are pretty thick between our front porch and the sunrise but the colors are good through their silhouettes.

The robins like our oak and generally seem to be facing the sunrise while they sing the morning awake.

The sunrise is visible from our back porch – and my office window. The trees are mostly tulip poplar – very tall. On the other side of the trees is a horse boarding area…so a relatively thin forest that still lets the color through as long as the trees are bare.

Somehow noting the colors at the beginning of the day – the clouds that add definition to the sky…is always worth a photograph.

Ten Days of Little Celebrations – March 2016

Many years – March is a mix of winter and spring, skewed toward spring. This year it has been heavily skewed toward spring.

I celebrated:

A sunny day for a hike (it was often muddy but the temperature was pleasant enough)

Blooming skunk cabbages (this year leaves are unfurling very quickly)

Birthdays of 3 family members. It happens every year, but somehow have 3 in cluster increases the attention to celebrating.

A road trip to 4 Eastern Shore wildlife refuges

The rapid leafing of a sprouted sweet potato once I put it into dirt

The rediscovery of a small purse that is perfect fit for my camera, id, and chapstick. I getting more comfortable with minimalist fieldtips!

The opportunity to dissect an owl pellet and finding 2 rodent jaws.

Feeling prepared for spring field trips at Mt. Pleasant Farm and Belmont (after training that happened this month)

The weather warmed enough to keep the window in my office open --- hearing the birds at our feeder and at the edge of the forest.

Staying focused on what I want to get done – there is no ‘spring fever’ happening to me this spring at all!