Suddenly Winter
Suddenly, the outdoor palette changes from golden hues to stark …nearly black and white… colors of winter.
But indoors…
Warm, golden hues.
Bear and Auggie napping.
While outside…
The forecast falling snow…
… falls.
Suddenly Winter.
Posts from the ‘wildflowers’ category
Of Orchids and Lilies
Saturday evening, under gray and cloudy skies, watching my step over wet rocks and sticks in the woods…
Two Calypso Orchids! The small blooms are about 1/2 the size of my thumbnail and they are turned over so they tend to hide under grasses and greens.
Violets are starting to bloom now so there are other purple things in the grasses.
I have read that conditions of soil have to be just right for the orchids and they can be dormant for years. There had been a small patch that had a few orchids every spring but I’ve not seen them for several years. These two were in an entirely different area. I had only my phone the first night and could not get a clear photo.
Last night, I took the big camera – gorgeous and unique!
And speaking of unique… Saturday, returning on a high from finding the orchids, I saw near the house what looked like two Glacier Lilies blooming practically on top of each other.
It was two and they were on top of each other, on one stem: a double!
May flowers from April showers: Glacier Lily
May 1, walking with Bear and Auggie…
Those tire marks are from the woodsman who worked in my woods and then obtained a permit to cut wood on the state land adjacent to my woods. It is hard to tell from the photo, but it is a bit of a downhill to the lower level of the state land.
We walk down that little bit of hill and out a little ways before turning left (south) toward the house.
In those tracks…
I saw the first Glacier Lily.
Beautiful little flowers, one to a stem with pretty leaves at the base. The flower is turned down, but with the front camera on the phone I didn’t have to lie down on the ground to see the blossom – yea!
Arriving back home, I had to laugh, because there in my own yard, just by the front porch was another.
May flowers from April showers: the first and second Glacier Lilies on May Day!
Jesters
Bee balm, but I call them “the court jester flowers” because they look like the silly hats that court jesters wore.
I love these flowers – they make me laugh!
They have been missing the last two summers and I was happily surprised this afternoon to see them in the woods.
They are not the only jesters…
Auggie is a big time jester!
Bear likes to tease also.
Jesters.
Mariposa Lily
One of my favorite wildflowers: Mariposa Lily
They start out looking like a miniature rosebud.
They open quickly after the bud first appears.
The woods is full of them this year. Usually I just enjoy them in the woods, but there are so many this year that I tried bringing some inside.
This is my second group. The first lasted a week with fresh water every day. I was very pleasantly surprised as wildflowers typically do not last long indoors.
A few raindrops on these from last night’s wonderful showers: Mariposa Lily
A Good Morning
The lupins are blooming…
The sun is shining and there is fresh snow on the mountains!
Bear and Auggie keep an eye on things in the woods … Auggie’s eyes are on a squirrel and he abandoned the walk to stay at his observation post.
The lilacs are blooming also – so fragrant and pretty!
Auggie returned shortly, thankfully without a squirrel, but with wet and dirty feet.
A good morning!