Brookside Gardens in March – Part II

When I went to check the skunk cabbage last week at Brookside Gardens, a disgruntled titmouse gave me the eye. That was the only bird I managed to photograph as I walked around the gardens.

The growth that I had noticed between two rocks by the stream last month is now blooming – narcissus.

There were also small flags

And crocus in bloom.

March had been off to a warm start but we had some cold days just before I went to Brookside so I was pleased to find some trees that looked undamaged by the cold.

The camellia was a pleasant surprise…and fortified me for what came next.

A magnolia was evidently in full bloom when the weather turned cold. Now all flowers are brown. There could be a few buds that may still open. I’ll check next time I go. It's a very large tree that usually is full of large pick flowers....maybe not this year.

It was warm enough that there were a few insects out and about. Do you see the insect in this picture? (Hint: a little left and down from center.)

Signs of Spring? – Part 2

The first part of this post was posted last week after a walk around our yard…on a warm afternoon. I posted the series of American Robin images first…now for the rest of what I saw --- There were some milkweed pods in the litter of one of our flower beds (yes – I let some plants go to seed there); there is the first milkweed bug of the season too!

I saw a bee investigating something in the leaf litter too. The day was so warm that the insects probably thought it was spring already.

The crocuses are come up through the leaf mulch left in the flower bed. I’m going to plant some out in the yard next fall since I like the look of the flowers in the lawns of Belmont.

 The miniature daffodils are blooming too.

There some of the larger and taller ones that are still green leaves and buds. When the leaves first emerge, they sometimes have kinks that straighten out before they start blooming.

The red maple is blooming. This time of year is it easy to tell the difference between this tree and other maples. All the others look dull compared to this red.

There is a tree in the forest behind our house that has lost its top and there are woodpecker holes around the wound in the part that remains.

There is a holly that has sprouted under a downspout – not a good place for a holly so I will have to pull it next time I put on my gardening gloves.

Part 1 was posted last Friday.

A Morning Tea at the Belmont Carriage House

The Howard County Conservancy held their annual Volunteer Tea yesterday at the Belmont Carriage House in Elkridge, MD.

I packed up two books to swap, some Zentangle tiles to give away as book marks, and Dark Chocolate Pudding (made with an avocado, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla) as a sweet indulgence among the scones and egg salad sandwiches. I have a picture of one table at the set up….and then about half way through. There was a lot of friendly conversation and enjoyment of food. I intended to come home with fewer books that I took…but there were so many books (many people brought more than 2!) that I came home with three…and have already read the one about Montezuma Castle (I got it because I enjoyed walking around the place during an Arizona visit – see the post here).

On the short walk back to my car, I took a picture of the barn built from stone found in the area; it could be used for a geology lecture!

I’d forgotten about the crocus bulbs that seem to have planted in the lawn around Belmont. They’ll done by the time the grounds need to be mowed.

The front of the Manor House still seems too open without the large English Elm that had to be removed because of Dutch Elm disease.

I’m still savoring the look of my new car (the red Prius Prime!).

Brookside Gardens with a Cell Phone

Earlier this week it was such a warm day that I wanted to get out and about - chose to go to Brookside Gardens. About halfway there, I realized I had forgotten my camera but then realized that I had my new cell phone (a Samsung Galaxy S7); it was time to experiment with the cell phone camera. I headed to the boardwalk between the conservatories and the Nature Center. The skunk cabbage was still not up under the cypress trees but there were crocus

And some dried ferns that were catching the sunlight (they look like big feathers!).

I walked toward the ponds and saw other early bulbs blooming

And turtles taking advantage of the warm day to come out of the mud at the bottom of the pond. I was beginning to learn about the camera in the phone; it does zoom (8x) but it’s all digital so the zoomed images sometimes look fuzzy.

As I trekked toward the witch hazel I had seen last time I visited Brookside – I saw a butterfly and managed to get a picture! It looks like a Question Mark Butterfly…hope there were others it found that were out and about.

Then I found the witch hazel trees again. They were still very bright with streamers around their blooms.

Some trees still have fried leaves clinging from last fall.

I learned that the camera in the cell phone does relatively well close up too.

As I completed the loop back to my car, I noticed some greenery between rocks (daffodils?) near the stream and wondered how the bulbs got wedged in that location.