“Daffodils in Crabapple Grove”
Heatherwood Spring
One more day and all the daffodils are in bloom. From the time that the first daffodils bloomed it only took four days for the whole daffodil drift to bloom. In the same time period several of the crabapples started to leaf out. Shortly they will start to bloom one by one.
“Daffies in Late Afternoon Sun”
Heatherwood Spring
Another day brings out more daffodil blooms. The field is now about 75% in bloom. One day makes a big difference.
Yesterday’s garden walk was in the late afternoon just before the sun dropped behind the western hills. The warm light was gorgeous as it spread across the garden onto the daffodils in the crabapple grove. It was a nice way to wrap-up a beautiful spring day!
“Daffodils and Crabapples”
Heatherwood Crabapple Grove
It’s hard to believe just how much difference only one day makes. Yesterday’s post showed just a few blooms. Today’s post, taken one day later, shows about 50% of the daffodils in bloom. Tomorrow will be even more!
“First Daffodils”
Heatherwood Spring
Yesterday we woke up and looked out our window, and there they were, the first daffodils of the year. There were about a dozen blooms among the field of green leaves. We took a morning stroll to admire them. Looking around we could see little reddish leaves starting to emerge from the spirea shrubs. Leaves were also starting to emerge from the crabapples. Once a few daffodils bloom, the remaining bulbs soon follow. We are just starting a series of blooming/budding color in our crabapple grove. First the daffodils, then the various crabapple trees one species at a time. Each week will have a different surprise.
We love spring!
“Daffodils”
Heatherwood Spring
We have had snow on the ground since Christmas. I am ready for a little spring snow created by a drift of daffodils. We have enjoyed the beauty of the snow covered garden, but are anxious to get back to gardening activities. There are bushes to prune, grasses to cut, perennials to trim back, and beds to prepare as we get ready for the spring planting season. We have a little over one month left before we start. In the mean time we are selecting new plants and planning our spring projects. Spring will be here before we know. Now it’s time to get back to enjoying the quiet beauty of winter.
Fuji X-T1, 55-200mm
No, it is not April Fool’s, we really do have bulbs sprouting up.
These little white crocuses are our first bloom of the Spring. The blooms remained wrapped up. It seems to be too cold for them to open up to the sky. Maybe tomorrow. The shadow cast by the bare flowering pear tree gave the image a little balance to fill the void of the brown winter grass.
Fuji X-T1, 55-200mm
Spring has been long in coming. It has been a long, hard, cold winter with record setting snow fall. Since the “official” spring started one and one-half weeks ago, it has been cold and wet with even a little snow flurry. But finally I see emerging spring bulbs coming up. Maybe Spring is really here! This morning I thought I would give my new travel camera its first try. I purchased my new FUJI X-T1 on the recommendation of two of my mentors/instructors, John Barclay and Tony Sweet. They have both fallen in love with the new FUJI X-series cameras. It will take me a while to get familiar with its strengths and weaknesses. It is sure a lot smaller and lighter than my Canon SLR’s. Hopefully the weather will get a little warmer for more pleasant shooting.
I am continuously trying to train my eye to see B&W. I find it difficult to see past brilliant color and identify the potential for B&W images. A few days ago, I stepped out our back door and saw these two yellow daffodils brilliantly back-lit by the low morning sun. Was it the color or was it the the brilliance of the back-lit subject that caught my eye ….
The following is the color version.
Just when we thought Spring was here, the temperatures dropped to the low 30’s last night. This morning was bright and clear, but “finger numbing” chilly. With the wind blowing, I worked hard to come up with the best compromise between a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the daffodils and a depth of field large enough to get some detail in the background. I was not too successful. But it was still a bright Spring morning shot.
Lesson learned: Sometimes a compromise cannot be reached … move on!