Spring Renewal
Yes, I know Spring is nearly gone and Summer is nigh but the pics and this post are from April (I told you I'd been thinking about the move for awhile).
Out hiking from one week to the next, more and more color develops -kind of like watching images emerge from the paper in the darkroom.
And while this is about as ...
green as it gets
where I usually hike, that isn't to say it's without color. Here are a few splashes from my trek the other weekend. It took me considerably longer to 'identify' what it was that I was admiring than it did to take the pics.
While I have 'clearer' shots of parsley, I like this one because it hints of the wind's invitation. No come-hither seduction this wind, more like - "Yo -you comin' or what?" As Pooh might say - it was a blustery day.
Lomatium triternatum
Stumped him. Mr. CJ generally knows the identity of most plant life (often including genus -if not species and this especially holds true for trees) but he couldn't ID this shrub. As best as I can tell it's a Golden Currant but what do I know -any time you have something that places a 'wall' around its cells and has more than two sets of chromosomes, well, that's just ... someone else's purview. Whitescreek is one such someone else and has a wonderful essay that explains why trees don't walk around. [via skb]
Ribes aureum
Of course, Mr. CJ did know the parsley and this lovely Phlox.
Phlox diffusa
Bogus Basin (ski resort) closed for the second time this season though there is still some snow up there as you can see from this shot taken off our back balcony (hiking shots from the foothills below this).
I bring this up because while I'd like to say my Magnolias are in bloom, it would be correct to say they were almost in bloom. The spell of cold and snow (that allowed Bogus to re-open) reeked havoc on my poor Magnolias. This is our fourth spring with them and each year we get more blossoms. I was hoping this year was going to be a great one (the guy at the nursery told us the first 3 years here were the critical ones and that if they made it that far they'd really start to take off) but before they could peek out they were nipped in the bud so to speak.
In memorium of the anticipated beauty, I offer a pic of the very first blossom from our Magnolias. Interestingly, it appeared, by its lonesome, in the Fall of 2003 (the watercolor effect was added in Photoshop).
Since our Lindens have not yet leafed out (and I already mentioned the Magnolias), the responsibility for our backyard aesthetics falls squarely on the Pear tree. You can see it doesn't take that responsibility lightly.
In Search of a Partridge
Out hiking from one week to the next, more and more color develops -kind of like watching images emerge from the paper in the darkroom.
And while this is about as ...
green as it gets
where I usually hike, that isn't to say it's without color. Here are a few splashes from my trek the other weekend. It took me considerably longer to 'identify' what it was that I was admiring than it did to take the pics.
While I have 'clearer' shots of parsley, I like this one because it hints of the wind's invitation. No come-hither seduction this wind, more like - "Yo -you comin' or what?" As Pooh might say - it was a blustery day.
Lomatium triternatum
Stumped him. Mr. CJ generally knows the identity of most plant life (often including genus -if not species and this especially holds true for trees) but he couldn't ID this shrub. As best as I can tell it's a Golden Currant but what do I know -any time you have something that places a 'wall' around its cells and has more than two sets of chromosomes, well, that's just ... someone else's purview. Whitescreek is one such someone else and has a wonderful essay that explains why trees don't walk around. [via skb]
Ribes aureum
Of course, Mr. CJ did know the parsley and this lovely Phlox.
Phlox diffusa
Bogus Basin (ski resort) closed for the second time this season though there is still some snow up there as you can see from this shot taken off our back balcony (hiking shots from the foothills below this).
I bring this up because while I'd like to say my Magnolias are in bloom, it would be correct to say they were almost in bloom. The spell of cold and snow (that allowed Bogus to re-open) reeked havoc on my poor Magnolias. This is our fourth spring with them and each year we get more blossoms. I was hoping this year was going to be a great one (the guy at the nursery told us the first 3 years here were the critical ones and that if they made it that far they'd really start to take off) but before they could peek out they were nipped in the bud so to speak.
In memorium of the anticipated beauty, I offer a pic of the very first blossom from our Magnolias. Interestingly, it appeared, by its lonesome, in the Fall of 2003 (the watercolor effect was added in Photoshop).
Since our Lindens have not yet leafed out (and I already mentioned the Magnolias), the responsibility for our backyard aesthetics falls squarely on the Pear tree. You can see it doesn't take that responsibility lightly.
In Search of a Partridge
posted by CJ at 12:50 PM
<< Home