Several of my blogger friends have started doing this photo exercise called "The Colors of ------- (insert this month here). It has been fun to join in - to see what is happening in other parts of the US & the world (take Ice Fishing for example - - the concept that it gets so cold that the ice gets thick enough to put little houses on - so you can sit out there in the comfort of your little house and fish - is totally lost on me - but - it does happen - I saw it on someone's blog in the Colors of February!)Anyhow, it was started by Sue on her blog Life Looms Large and clicking on this link will take you to a list of a myriad of other blogs that are doing the same topic.
The fun thing about this exercise is that it makes you really look around more - What exactly are the colors of this month,... you are always thinking... And this year, the colors have come early - they were early in February and they were early in March.
These flowering cherries that line the streets of Bellingham are not normally blooming until May. When they begin to lose their petals, it looks like big piles of pink snow. The poofy pink flowers make it one of my favorite trees.
This bright patch of tulips is right beside where I park my car. In the summer this space is filled with nasturtiums - actually the same colors - reds and yellows of all shades and the green of the foliage.
I always get to take a big bunch into work with me - everyone always wants to know what they are - they are peony tulips.
April signals lush green lawns and (from the first picture today) the light green eggs of our Americauna chickens. These old girls are 10 or 12 years old - not quite as old as Sinda, but that's pretty darn old for a chicken.
This lush green lawn is in the city park where I stop and eat my lunch 2 or 3 days a week. It's restful (although there seems to be a LOT of traffic through this neighborhood) and fun to watch the kidlets who come to play from the daycare center down the block.
It is a little early for my Lily of the Valley - but we had a couple of warm days earlier in the week, so if I went out an looked in the morning, it's probably blooming now.
My Grandma liked Lily of the Valley and had big beds of it in the shady areas around her home. To smell it always brings back memories.
This is a common shrub in the Pacific NW - I love the lacy white flowers that it has.
And even more common - the dandy lion - even though they are a weed, they are so sunny and bright.
Oh, can you tell - here are some more of my favorite cherry blossoms - this one is right outside our back door - and while it is covered in blossoms and new leaves -
Some trees are still naked - waiting for Mother Nature to send them a sign that it is OK to send out the leaves.
I hope you've enjoyed the colors of April from my part of the world - and I hope it will inspire you to look a little bit closer to find the colors of April in your own back (and front!) yards.
P.S. Don't forget to go see Sue and check out the colors of April from other parts of the world.
13 comments:
You have really captured the colours of Spring beautifully. Soft pinks, sharp rich yellows and vibrant greens. I have a plague of Lily of The Valley, they will smell like heaven when they flower later on. Dandilions too, they just thrive anywhere.
Whicky
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Yes, our flowers are a bit ahead of yours down here. Lovely colors of early Spring, there. I especially like the cherry trees. So pretty and soft looking.
Lois in Cincinnati
Okay, it's just not fair! More north of us and look at how spring has sprung. I will admit down in the valley trees have bloomed, flowers have come up and there is a lot of the bright spring green leaves happening right now.
Beautiful pictures!
Your pictures are lovely!! I especially like the peony tulips. I'm going to have to look for them when we do our fall planting. Also the lily of the valley is so pretty. Humm I wonder how they would do on the east side of my house?
I had to laugh at your difficulty grasping the concept of ice houses; we lived in Minnesota for a year and a half and ice fishing is definitely a season! I never would let Rick drive our only vehicle out on the ice, but he and his boss drove their big, heavy vet trucks out to the ice house. The ice pops and groans under the strain, but holds! Well, except too early and too late in the season; there's always a few fools who drop their rigs in the lakes by driving on them at the wrong time. If you don't get your ice fishing house off the lake in time, there is a fine. If you drop your vehicle in, it's totalled! Yes, that was a totally different experience to live up there; I feel ever so much more at home here.
Great color pictures!! I was just appreciating my neighbor's cherry tree the other day. They're so beautiful.
Love the peony tulips!!! And great idea to photograph a dandelion. They are kind of pretty (in photos at least!)
Enjoy your spring!!!
Sue
Hey! I grew up ice fishing on the Great Lakes...although we even thought the houses with tv's and heaters were a bit strange.
I love the "colors" here, Tina. Right now, all that's blooming here are my violas - tough little buggers that they are. There are promises of crabapple flowers though.
Oh Tina, you've got lily of the valley! When I was a kid, we had some growing under the lilac bush outside our back door. Those have always been two of my favorite flowers. Sadly, I'm now in the wrong zone! Lovely shots. Those tulips are especially cheerful.
You have done a fabulous job at catching the Colors of April. This is a neato post and mom's going to wait until next month (our little sisbean's 4th purrday pawty) and do a post like this.
It's so pretty where you live. My parents should never have left the state in the first place!
Are you going to BSG????
Lily of the valley: that's one thing I can't grow here - and I love them. The smell is so lovely. I envy you.
On the other hand: we have plenty of dandelions as well (I keep fighting them, although their flowers look very cheerful, they tend to grow in spots I had intended for something else)
Lily of the Valley is one of my faves too - and I found a pink one! Thanks for dropping by my blog - yes, do use the pics of the flowers - they are some of my favourite spring flowers too - I must find the yellow bells - they will be out too.
Really pretty flowers and photos. It is fun to see what is blooming where!
Post a Comment