Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack and I went to the park this morning instead of the woods so we could check the progress of the tulips, but there’s been very little progress since the last time we checked a few days ago. A bit of sunshine might  help, but there hasn’t been much of that in the past few weeks and if the forecast is to be believed 7 of the next 10 days are going to be rainy. Sigh. We really don’t need any rain. The river and creeks are running high with localized areas of flooding and the ground is soggy just about everywhere. I know it’s the season of mud, but does it have to be muddy every single bloody day? Oh well, rain or shine the flowers will bloom eventually and just to prove that point we did find heaps of open daffodils all around the duck pond. They’re making their own sunshine.

Jack’s Walk

The first trillium of the year, ©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack and I searched the forest today looking for open trilliums and we could only find one. It’s a red one which isn’t surprising because the red trilliums always show up first in our woods and it was in perfect condition which is surprising because the red ones seem to wither almost as soon as they bloom. There are masses of trilliums this year, but it’s been cold and damp and they’re slow to open. Last year many of them didn’t open for much the same reason so I’ve got  my fingers crossed for better this year.

I did try using a mirror to take this photo, but I couldn’t make it work. It reflected too much sky and looked awful. Instead, I got down on my hands and knees as usual (hence the shaking blur) and pretended I didn’t hear those noises I made getting back up.

A Beautiful G R E E N Morning

Over the weekend, everything exploded into that fresh, new shade of green that is among my favourite colours – it’s not that I’m partial to green (it’s actually among my less favourite colours), it’s that this particular shade always looks so clean and bright and only lasts a very short while. In other words, it is extremely transient, but it means that winter is over (never mind the possible frosts, life has returned). I love it. And to celebrate, here is some bad phone photography:

But just look at that colour! © rq, all rights reserved.

 

(The Green Song by Pērkons. Same vocalist as previously, lyrics below in somewhat literal translation.)

Touch the earth, the earth is white.
The earth is white, a moment before it was green.
Give your warmth, it will be green again.
Remember, remember, remember – your part is green.
Remember, remember – everything is in your hands.
Hail is hail, frost is frost,
Most is mist above all things until now.
On which hill will we light our fire,
Where shall we winter this summer?
How important, do you think,
How important is a single fire?
What will you, icicle, icicle, do when
When the awl of the sun pierces you?
When the awl of the sun pierces you?
Hail is hail, frost is frost,
Mist is mist above all things until now.
As many fires as will be lit on each hill,
So long shall we live.

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

©voyager, all rights reserved

The trilliums are here. And there. And everywhere. They’re positively busting out all over the place and I can’t recall ever seeing this many trilliums in our little forest. It’s a bumper crop. I couldn’t find any open blooms yet, but it won’t be more than a day or two before they appear. Jack and I plan to come back tomorrow and I’m betting I’ll find a few open flowers to share with all of  you.

Jack’s Walk

Trout Lilies ©voyager, all rights reserved

Bloodroot ©voyager, all rights reserved

Yesterday was about as perfect as a spring day can get. It was full of sunshine, the air was warm and a gentle breeze whispered through the budding trees. Jack and I took a long leisurely walk through our little forest and marveled at all the new life since our last visit. The trout lilies are sprouting all over the place, making the most of the spring light before it vanishes behind the burgeoning leaves. The mayapples and false Solomon’s seal have poked their heads up and a few trilliums have appeared here and there.

I’m talking about yesterday because today is not a nice day around here. It’s overcast, cold and threatening rain. Jack and I haven’t even gone for our walk yet, but I won’t complain because at least we don’t have snow, which they do out west. We are also not underwater which they are to the east. I’m living in a goldilocks zone and a bit of cold and damp is hardly worth mentioning. I hope none of you are living in the flooded area around Ottawa and Montreal and if you’re in an area still dealing with snow you have my sympathy.

You may notice that Jack’s Walk is posted later than usual today and that’s on purpose. Most things on the blog get posted earlier in the day (New York time) and because we have readers all over the world I’m trying to space things out a bit. Jack’s Walk will now get posted later in the afternoon. I’m always open to feedback, though, so let me know what you think.

 

Jack’s Walk

You Shall Not Pass. ©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack and I were very near the end of our walk along the riverbank this morning when we discovered the last section of the trail was underwater. Jack didn’t see any problem with that and  just swam across, but I really wasn’t in the mood for a cold soak. The trail itself is a big loop and when you reach the (currently submerged) cement segment you are only one big left turn and a short jaunt away from the car. I almost took off my shoes and socks to go wading, but in the end we just turned around and retraced our steps all the way backwards along the big loop until we finally saw our car.

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

©voyager, all rights reserved

Yesterday I forgot to attach 2 photos so here they are today, a bright yellow daffodil and a deep pink hyacinth. Jack and I have been walking around our neighbourhood this week because of the flowers. Wild flowers in the woods are a few days away from blooming, but the bulb flowers of spring are opening up all around us. So far, daffodils, hyacinth and a few crocuses are showing off, but I’m most anxious to see the tulips, especially in our local park. Every year our city changes the colour scheme and it’s always a surprise until the flowers are open. The tulips are up and in bud, but they’re taking their own sweet time to bloom. I’ve got my eye on them, though, so I’m hoping to get photos when they’re at their peak. In the meantime, Jack has started his seasonal allergy tablets so he can tolerate walking on grass without picking his feet until they bleed. He likes to walk around the blocks close to home occasionally so he can pick up his p-mail and leave his replies. It’s very important dog business.

Spawn 2.0

Yesterday we saw a sac of frog eggs that Avalus had found in his botanical garden. Today he’s sent us another amphibian egg sac that he found in the same botanical garden. It’s not as far along as the previous sac from which tadpoles were hatching, but here the babies are all shaped like little, adorable commas.

Laich, ©Avalus, all rights reserved

Speaking of babies, make sure to check in tomorrow for the next installment of Full Fish Ahead. Avalus has lots of babies to show us and they couldn’t be any cuter.

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

I’m still recovering from my long day of waiting for my dear hubby to wake up from dental surgery, but today is bright and warm and the sunshine is doing wonders for my mood. Jack and I had a slow, pleasant walk around our own neighbourhood today and the flowers are starting to open and all the colours are finally coming back. My neighbourhood is also positively busy with life. I’ve seen butterflies and ladybugs, gnats and ants. The birds are busy building nests, finding food and singing their songs. The squirrels are digging, jumping, running and twitching their tails. Soon they will be harder to spot as the trees get fuzzier and leaf day approaches. Now is when the magic of spring becomes visible and my senses can take a long drink of the sweet outdoors. These are the flowers that are  blooming today and the hyacinth is scenting the air with a sweet bouquet. It’s grand.

 

 

Jack’s Walk

A new leaf among the old. ©voyager, all rights reserved

After many weeks of hitting the snooze button our little forest has finally decided to wake up. Everywhere you look things are growing.  The trout lilies are putting up leaves all over the place and I saw one or two trilliums from afar. I wanted to get closer, but the ground was a bit too muddy to wander off the path. I also didn’t want to trample any young, tender shoots still hidden in the leaf litter. The trilliums looked to be a few days away from blooming so I’ll go back on Wednesday or Thursday to see what’s what. Usually the first trilliums to appear are the red ones and they’re my favorite variety. I’ve been chasing the perfect  red trillium photo for years, but the so far it’s eluded me. The red trilliums are wickedly difficult to photograph because the plant is short and the flowers point downwards so you need to get underneath the plant and shoot up. Not such an easy trick for an old dog like me. Someone suggested I use a mirror and I’m going to try that, but if it doesn’t work I’ll do the belly crawl a few times. I have a good feeling that this is the year I’ll finally get that photo.

Mystery plants. ©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack’s Walk

 

Green! ©voyager, all rights reserved

More green! ©voyager, all rights reserved

Ha! The forecast was wrong. It’s a beautiful sunny day with blue skies and the air is filled with that earthy scent of spring. I can hear birds singing and the neighbourhood is full of busy squirrels running here and there doing all the things that squirrels do in the spring. Jack was feeling energetic today, too, and he pranced and wagged for most of the walk stopping often to follow a scent or leave a splash of pee. We went past the high school just as the kids were going for lunch and Jack schmoozed with a few gaggles of teens and left happiness in his wake. Best of all today, green is back. The grass is turning a lovely kelly green and there are bunches of fresh green tulips and hyacinths and daffodils getting ready to flower. I can hardly wait.