Lady Slipper

The first I've seen blooming this season.

Holly flowers

We all know the berries, but have you noticed these?
And you can see this spring's new leaf growth as well, and some "winter burn" or some such damage on a couple of the older leaves.
I'm not sure if this is Ilex aquifolium - English holly (I suspect it is), or Ilex opaca - American holly.  Either way, it is pretty.

kayak

Concord River

My husband and I got out for our first kayak of the season today.  It was a beautiful sunny day with just a light breeze and temps in the upper 60s.  We chose to head to a put-in not far from our house, since it was getting to be late morning by the time we got organized, but we decided to go downstream first, since we hardly ever do that and the wind was light.  As it turned out, the wind was with us as we paddled upstream on the way back and we didn't have to work too hard at all.  All in all, pretty much a perfect paddle.

We saw great blue herons, Canada geese, red-wing blackbirds, tree swallows, a red-tail hawk, a turkey vulture, several painted turtles and a snapping turtle.  We heard many, many birds without seeing them, and we saw a beaver lodge and lots of beaver chew, but no beavers.  We did, however, see several mysterious splashes.  As you can see in the photo, the leaves are not fully out yet, but they are coming - we are in full spring mode here in New England.

flowers!

forget-me-not - so cheerful and unassuming, they come up in different spots different years

violets - always so sweet - these grow all around my house, including these on my front walkway

trillium - I transplanted this from my neighbor several years ago - it hasn't spread, but it comes back every year (this hasn't fully opened, but it looks pretty this way also)

Japanese andromeda - I just learned the name of this one today, even though it's been here for years - not native, but not invasive, and quite sweet smelling (a robin has built a nest in the bush near my back door)

bloodroot - so this flower has already dropped its petals, but it is a very cool plant that is spread when ants take the seeds back to their tunnels where they then grow

shadbush - this looks better in real life than in a photo, but once this blooms I know spring has arrived

beech leaves

The American Beech trees have finally lost last year's leaves.  That means that the new leaves are about ready to pop out.  And that means that spring is here.

Spicebush

One of the sweetest smelling early bloomers - even if it isn't showy.

blooms

So spring is finally making a slow entrance here in New England.  Each day the views look a little greener, and today we hit temps above 70ºF for the first time this year.  These pics are from a couple of days ago, and there are more out there now!

a cool fungus in my yard - no id yet

marsh marigolds

pulmonaria (lungwort)

skunk cabbage

frog

Just reporting the first frog sighting in my own little stream this spring.  I guess this warm rain finally tempted them out.

I'm glad it's warm enough for frogs again

Now if only that stubborn pile of snow outside my back door would melt...

a better pic

The owl moved, in the same tree, and I was able to get a better picture.  She (just a random guess) clearly noticed my every move when I was in her field of vision.  So beautiful!

wonderful - Barred Owl

wow!

So my daughter and I are coming back from our daily afternoon walk with the dog and we see a big bird fly toward our house.  It's an owl, says my daughter.  I could tell it was a big one, but not which kind, until I got up close.  It turned out to be a Barred Owl!  Very cool - and it ended up landing in the big ol' pine in front of our house.  The songbirds in the yard are not happy!  The owl is still there, as I write this.  What a great place to live!

What a beauty!

spring?

We've had a couple of warm days, but not too many yet.  Still below freezing pretty much every night.
BUT - I did hear wood frogs in a nearby wetland today, for the first time this spring.  No peepers yet.
And we still have a couple of piles of snow where there were huge piles before.
The birdfeeders are staying full longer, though, which is another sign of vernal change - the birds are finding other, more tempting, food, which is good.
And little green shoots are coming up in spots.
I'm sure it won't be long before leaves are popping out left and right!

sights

I just got a new camera.  Here are some random pictures I've taken recently, learning how it works.  With the lens that it has on it now, it is better at macro and not as good at zoom as the camera I was using.  But I can changes lenses on this one, which will be a whole new experience for me.

Fryeburg, happy the snow is not so deep anymore

Beech leaves - they'll be on the ground soon

Ice in the stream - that has melted now, thankfully

Lichen and moss with quartz and oak leaves

Lichen on dead tree

Eaten acorn shells at the base of an oak tree

Spring is definitely coming - the skunk cabbage is up!