Tag: spring

Oregon Grape Shrubs Awakening

We have so many Oregon Grape shrubs on the restoration site. Some of them north of the Hanford stairs were planted by Earth Corps 10-15 years ago. Some of the ones south of the stairs were planted by a neighborhood group 6-10 years ago. All of shrubs had been crushed by blackberry vines but thrived once they were freed from those invasive plants. We have also planted new Oregon Grape shrubs throughout the site.

Buds
Buds begin to open
Flowering
More and more flowers
More and more beauty

FOTD

It Snowed!

While the rest of the country was suffering through devastating winter storms, Seattle’s temperatures were in the high 40’s and low 50’s. It felt like spring. Many of the plants were beginning to bud; some of the leaf buds had even opened.

Last night I was watching the Super Bowl at Al’s. Soon after I arrived, it began to snow. I stayed for the first three quarters but was very distracted. During the 4th quarter, I decided it was time for me to go home.

I don’t like to drive in the snow, plus I live on the side of a hill. It doesn’t take much to make my car slide and I hate that feeling. I have avoided driving in the snow since the year I slid down a steep hill near my house sideways, with a station wagon right behind me. That incident was probably in the late 70’s or early 80’s.

Last night, I made it home without incident. It was not snowing when I went to bed, but it snowed more during the night. This was the scene from inside my warm house this morning.

from the dining room
from the bathroom

Later in the day, I decided to walk to the end of my property and take some photos of the Greenbelt.

The snow is really beautiful but I hope it goes away soon… and doesn’t damage all the new buds.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Awakening

This is the view from the upper deck of my house. The magnolia tree and the blue spruce are in my yard. Beyond them is the Greenbelt which is full trees and plants awakening.

I love watching ferns in their awakening process. Each of the photos below  is of a different fern. Most of them are in the Greenbelt.

By June, many of them will look like this.

Awakening

Red Clover: Under the Microscope

At this point, most of the red clover blossoms are withering. I looked at three of the “flowers” under the microscope.

#1

#2

#3

These photos were taken with an iPhone 7 connected to a microscope with an adapter. You can click on any of the galleries to see a closer view.