The birds were singing more on this warmer day as spring officially starts. And the ground and the outside house walls had plenty of flies crawling around so I could have turned my tree frog loose for an afternoon smack when the sun came out later in the day. And it must be spring as I spotted a mosquito too, even though there are no spring flowers blooming. I rather see flowers than those nasty insects.
Pretty Violets
The temperature tried to get above freezing today, but the snow hasn’t melted yet so there no blooming flowers to be found outside as spring hasn’t arrived yet.
Springtime Violas
The sunshine this morning is rather deceiving. The sky looked blue and the sun was shining but the wind chill was rather cold and so there were no white apple blossoms or green grass to be found yet.
White from Blossoms
The sun was out and shone on the white, but since it is winter, it was white snow and not springtime apple blossoms which would be more preferable, other than those who want a white Christmas.
White of Apple Blossom
Green flowers often get overlooked since they don’t stand out like the other colors. But at least “Jack” had a hood over his head to protect from the patchy frost overnight. New seedlings need three or more years of growth before they become large enough to flower. The Jack-in-the-pulpit flowers are unisexual and normally the larger plants are female.
Jack Hiding Under the Hood
While one generally thinks of colored leaves in the autumn, springtime also displays some red maple leaves when they first emerge before turning to summer green color.
Springtime Maple Leaves
With temperatures near freezing overnight, the spring flowers might be a little frosty. The pinky purple of the Wild Geraniums look like their cheeks are already turning rosy from the cold temperatures, but at least they not buried under snow yet although snow is falling at the moment.
Wild Geranium
Patches of white can be seen on the ground but at least it isn’t snow, but white from all the blossom petals of the flowering trees which the strong winds blew off yesterday.
Apple Blossoms Before the Winds
My lawn was full of yellow color from the dandelions, but some other yellow could be found in the ditches and other wet area as the Marsh Marigolds are in bloom right now. A blossom can produce up to two hundred seeds and when its seed pod open, it forms a splash cup so that when a raindrop hits the wall of the seed cavity, the seeds are expelled. And as the plants are often growing in or near water, the seeds have a spongy tissue which allows them to float on the water so the seeds can wash up on land to grow.
Golden Yellow from the Marsh Marigolds
A cloudy morning is keeping the blue sky hidden but there is some blue and with pink tones in the Virginia Bluebells which are currently blooming in the woods giving nectar to the butterflies. The blossoms start out in pink but when it matures and ready for pollination, it increases its alkalinity to change the red pigmentation into blue pigmentation, a color that is much more attractive to pollinators.
The Blue of Virginia Bluebells
