Spring is definitely arriving in my front yard. The maple trees are the brave ones—they are always first. Their furry buds look so pretty lit golden by the late afternoon sun.

Up close and personal they look entirely different, like some exotic flower.

The forsythia hedge is not going to be left behind. Its buds are expectantly waiting to burst open in their full cheery yellow glory.

Small bushes are starting to unfurl their first new leaves.

And since I don’t have any crocus, I had to go outside of my own yard and into those of my neighbors. This pretty grouping is from Luke’s yard.

And these are from Luke’s next-door neighbor. He has a nice cheery row planted against his stone wall.

Even though our temperature is not anything to brag about this weekend (23 degrees right now, heading to low 40’s by midday) I know that warmer weather is on its way. At least today it’s sunny and not rainy like it has been this past week. We’ll be thankful for seat heaters when we take Mia out for a spin today!

Post amended to include two more photos at the end!

This beauty is now blooming in my sun room. It was gifted to me three years ago by my neighbor, Aileen. Somehow I’ve managed to coax it into re-blooming for me two years in a row. I really didn’t think it was going to bloom this year!

I tried several different angles, lenses, and views against the greenish-yellow of the walls. If I used the flash it made the walls look white, which I did not want. I shot most of these raw on shutter priority. I had to boost the exposure in iPhoto, but other than that they are like they came from the camera. I used my big telephoto lens, my normal lens and the LensBaby for the close-ups. I think I took about 50 photos and scrapped around 35 of them. These are the ones I think came out best for what I was going for.

More...

Here is an odd and random selection of photos that I’ve taken over the past couple of weeks.

1. Reflected trees in my pool.

2. & 3. Tree fungi.

4. “X” marks the spot. (I actually like lens flare!)

5. Inside of a tulip. (store-bought and not growing in my yard)

Daffodils breaking ground today.

Lots to say. Just no words. In case anyone was worried about us with all the press about flooding in New Jersey and, more particularly, Wayne (where Rick works) we are safe, sound and dry. The same can’t be said for our neighbors, or those “down the mountain” from us. Let me just say that it’s mostly downhill from our house to the Atlantic Ocean. Wayne is at the confluence of three rivers, plus they are really low in elevation. Rick had an interesting drive in to work today taking alternate routes as many roads were closed due to flooding and downed trees.
Anyway ...

The heavens opened up and we got 3.5 inches of rain from Friday night into Sunday noon-ish. Add into that the melting snowpack we had from almost two weeks earlier and you have saturated ground and water with nowhere to go. Our yard is smooshy and gooshy. The dogs don’t even want to be out and laying on that damp junk. Who would? Trust me; it’s gross.

The skunk cabbage seems to be in its element though. Mother Earth is stirring. We can only hope she doesn’t drown as it’s still raining a little.

I promise, much more to come.

I love seeing a tree’s shadow on snow. Somehow it’s stronger, sharper, more clear than just on plain ground. This is a sight I doubt I’ll be seeing again this year. This photo was taken a mere three days ago, and now that snow that helped cast such a wonderful shadow is gone. Melted away with the near 60 degree temperatures we’ve had this week and the ever strengthening rays of the almost-spring-sun.

Not only will I not see snow shadows anymore, but soon the tree will be wearing its new leafy green garb that conceals its true shape. No longer will its limbs be bare for all the world to see. It will not be casting this same shadow again until next year.

The birds are saying it’s time to move on too. I wake up to their sweet, varied songs every morning. Just yesterday I saw the little fox sparrow, my very own spring predictor, back scratching around at my feeding station again. He’s late this year. I’ve not seen any robins as yet. When we lived in Colorado the robins were full time residents, but here they leave for the winter.

This weekend we are expecting between 2 and 4 inches of rain! That’s a lot of water. They say that if it were snow it would be three or four feet! I’ll be glad for the water this time instead of snow. At least I don’t have to shovel it!

I do believe spring is on it’s way!

Mr. Cardinal is ready too. (Taken during our big snow storm.)