…with seasonal changes is a motivating force. I missed three weeks of spring while I was away. That worried me, because after observing summer, fall and winter here on Fidalgo Island, I didn’t want to miss seeing the changes spring would bring.
But it was fine – when I returned from Europe 12 days ago, tender, green growth was visible everywhere. The spring ephemerals – wildflowers that take advantage of extra light on the forest floor before the trees leaf out – were blooming. These flowers benefit from spring rain too, and it’s been unusually dry. But at least for now the morning dew, and some moisture remaining in the soil, keep the green machine chugging along.
I’ve taken a walk outside most every day, not wanting to miss a minute of this fleeting season. I’m curious to see how spring here differs from spring 70 miles south, where I used to live. Many of the major players in this ecosystem are the same – the dominant evergreen trees, the understory of salal and sword fern, the basic weather patterns – but there are striking differences. Sussing out the disparities, season by season, is fascinating.
I’ve taken walks at a community forest around a lake, at my favorite places in Deception Pass State Park, and at a local park on a peninsula. Those locations are close to home but one day we drove an hour inland to Rockport State Park, where the ecosystem is a little different. In each place wildflowers were blooming, ferns were unfurling, birds were singing, insects were buzzing, and the cool, fresh air gave me a little shiver until I warmed up from trudging up and down hills.
I brought along a favorite macro lens, a wider-angled prime lens, and once, the old Super Takumar 50mm vintage lens, which can be a challenge to use, but produces some unique images. The sun has been bright lately, which isn’t ideal for photographing tiny, delicate wildflowers. I did what I could with the conditions I found. It was fun getting back to Lightroom. I really enjoy pushing those sliders around and manipulating images, but I’m rusty after three solid weeks away from it. In any case, I think you’ll enjoy the fruits of my walks – I hope so. I’ll get back to the Europe trip later – this feels like it can’t wait!
1. Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) like all ferns, is interesting to peer at up close. I love those tightly coiled little fists. Some people harvest and eat the fiddleheads, but the safety of ingesting this fern is controversial.
2. Bracken again. Slightly different species of this fern grow in North, Central and South America, in Europe, in Africa, in China and Southeast Asia, and in Australia. In other words, it’s everywhere! Cattle farmers don’t like it because it can poison livestock.
3. A Twisted stalk, probably Clasping Twisted-stalk, aka Watermelon berry (Streptopus amplexifolius), unfolding in the shady understory of the old growth forest at Rockport State Park. The small flowers hide under the stalk – you have to get down really low to see them. A very elegant plant!
4. I think this is a close relative, Rose Twisted-stalk (Streptopus lanceolatus, v. roseus). It’s easier to identify after the flowers open, but what a beauty it is at this stage. Rockport State Park.
4. Another elegant plant, though many people may not realize it, is our native Vine maple (Acer circinatum). This small forest tree is found, like many of our native plants, from southwest British Columbia to northern California. Close relatives are the familiar Japanese and Korean maples of Asia.
5. The little Calypso orchid (Calypso bulbosa) is found in cool forests in the US, Japan, China, Korea, Mongolia, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Baltics. The plant depends on particular soil fungi and does not transplant well.
6. Calypso orchid petals seen from above. The flower does not produce nectar, but the fancy digs (seen in #5) are quite attractive to insects. Though a bee may leave disappointed, just one more futile try for nectar at another flower may be enough for pollination. Orchids often use this strategy of pollination by deception.
7. Looking up in the deep shade of the forest at Goose Rock, Deception Pass State Park. The cheerful oval leaves are the Red Huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium), a common understory plant of our woods. Indigenous people made good use of the small berries. Whenever I see them there are only a few left; the birds and animals always seem to beat me to the berry.
8. Pacific Bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa), with its ferny foliage, creates a soft, pleasing picture wherever it grows. It’s a popular garden plant; the nursery trade has hybridized these flowers to produce much bigger, more deeply colored pink blooms, and pure white flowers as well. Rockport State Park.
9. Black and white? Color? I chose a highly desaturated look for this sweet fiddlehead unfurling it’s fronds at Cranberry Lake, on Fidalgo Island.
10. The little Chocolate lily, (Fritillaria affinis) is a western lily of well-drained sites. Locally, it’s often found on bluffs and balds, the open spaces scraped clean by glaciers long ago. The small, brown and gold flowers can be hard to spot. I had to sit down on the ground to get this angle; this plant was just a few inches tall. Taken with the vintage Super Takumar 50mm lens at f2 or f2.8.
11. Another take on the Chocolate lily, seen from above and processed in sepia tones. This plant is similar to (but much smaller than) the garden plant Fritillaria meleagris, or Checkered lily, which is now rare in its native Eurasian range.
12. Death camas (Toxicoscordian venenosus), at Washington Park, where I saw hundreds of the pretty little plants, which are poisonous from head to toe, to both humans and livestock.
13. In bud here are two Common camas flowers (Cammasia quamash). Camas was an important food plant for indigenous people here in the northwest. It often grows near Death camas (above). The flowers are different, but when the flowers are gone it’s hard to tell the bulbs apart, and the bulbs are what people ate. Supposedly, tribes weeded out the Death camas plants to protect themselves against accidental poisoning. Taken with the Super Takumar 50mm lens.
14. Here’s an open Common camas flower, in a shadier place, where you can appreciate the delicate lavender color. Also taken with the Super Takumar.
15. Spring color is reflected in a fast-moving stream at Rockport State Park.
16. Is this a small bee? I don’t know. I was trying to photograph the impossibly tiny flowers of what’s known around here as Sugar-scoop, or Three-leaf foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata). The tiny flowers are scattered along a stem held high over three-part leaves. A delicate beauty, it rewards you if you can get close; in this case the reward doubled.
17. A stump of rotting wood is left in place at Rockport State Park. Downed trees are full of possibilities for many life forms, from tough lichens and luxurious mosses to the Douglas squirrels that use them as a picnic table and the Pileated woodpeckers that excavate meals from them.
18. Western starflower (Trientalis latifolia) sends up one or two flower stalks on delicate stems, leaving the flowers dangling over the whorl of leaves. It’s a beautiful sight when the pale stars are scattered above deep green leaves on the forest floor. Deception Pass.
19. The humble Starflower may have supplied indigenous people with food from its tubers. It’s slightly different from the Northern and Arctic starflower (Trientalis borealis and T. arctica), which grow in eastern North America, and Europe and Asia.
20. Stink currant – that’s a fine name! It describes the smell of crushed leaves, not the fruit, which is reported to be unpleasant to delicious, depending on the bush. Ribes bracteosum is the Latin name for this gooseberry relative that grows from Canada down to northern California. I found this one at Rockport State Park,
20. A woodland trail at Cranberry Lake, part of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands. Taken with the Super Takumar lens.
21. This buttercup (Ranunculas sp.) has lost its petals, but the stamens and developing achenes (the tiny fruits that hold a seed) are the same joyful yellow. Goose Rock, Deception Pass.
22. I couldn’t resist including this burgeoning specimen of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). It was along a roadside at Rockport State Park but of course, they are everywhere!
23. Meadow, or Field chickweed (Cerastium arvense) and pink Sea Blush, aka Short-spurred Pletritis (Plectritis congesta) bloom happily in a meadow. Washington Park, Fidalgo Island.
24. A Red huckleberry bush gathers a shaft of light angling through the thick canopy of Douglas firs, Western hemlocks, and Redcedars. Deception Pass.
25. Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) has come into flower recently. The mid-size bush or small tree graces our roadsides with pretty, cream-colored panicles of flowers. The compound leaves are handsome too, with their elegant tips and finely-toothed edges.
26. Fringecup (Tellima grandiflora) is easy to overlook but a close-up view is rewarding. This is another Spring wildflower that is available as a garden plant, with bigger, more colorful flowers. Indigenous people used the plant medicinally. According to Wikipedia, T. grandiflora contains a compound with antiviral properties. Deception Pass.
27. Two Vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla) plants rise above Lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina) fronds, which in turn hover over the flattened evergreen fronds of Sword fern (Polystichum munitum). Snow crushed the Sword fern plants while the others slept underground – but Sword fern is putting out new fronds. Vanilla leaf sometimes makes a delicate ground cover in the forest. The vanilla-scented leaves were used to repel insects and perfume living quarters.
28. A Western trillium (Trillium ovatum) past its prime is still beautiful. As the flower slowly turns deep pink, the petals will shrivel and fall away. See the holes in the leaves? I suspect a slug or other creature chewed a big bite in the plant a while ago, when the leaves were tightly folded to the center. The unfurled leaves now reveal three holes. Rockport State Park.
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Abundance! That’s Spring for you! This is longer than my usual posts, but the flowers just keep coming! Soon the flora parade will fizzle to a frizz, as our dry summer weather takes hold.
bluebrightly 
I saw some fern croziers this morning when I was out with my camera, but I couldn’t get close enough to photograph them. I love that curl. Thank you for capturing what I could not. Many years ago I picked enough fiddleheads to serve six people. I may have been the only one to eat them. I found them delicious and reminiscent of asparagus. Didn’t know then (or now, until you told us) that their safety as food was controversial. This was in Michigan near Grayling, and it may have been a different species; I’m not sure they looked like yours. In any case, I seem to have survived. . . . Love the focus and composition of #3, not to mention the colors. . . . Oooooooo, the way you’ve handled the light in #7! Just spectacular, Lynn. What beautiful leaves. . . . I’m fond of your composition in #8. . . . Love #9 for the highly desaturated look but even more for your placement of the fiddlehead in front of the furled leaves. . . . Your Super Takumar lens—and you—did a lovely job in #13. . . . I think the insect in #16 is a fly rather than a bee. Just a guess, though. . . . The tones of #18 are so lush! . . . Love how the light falls in #24; your crop is spot on. Another really nice post!
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Croziers – I never think of that word. Thank you! 🙂 Yes, the curl is the best, isn’t it? I’ve heard fiddleheads are like asparagus. They never look fresh enough in the store, and I guess I haven’t bee confident about picking and eating them, so far. Yours may well have been another species. I did very little for #7, other than notice that light and point. And use spot metering!! Likewise, #9 caught my eye because one frond was unfurling over another; I knew that would look good as long as the depth of field was right. See Almuth’s guess about the insect – you’re right, I think – aka hoverflies. Thank you. #24 was again pretty much as I found it. The forest here looks like that a lot, especially if you don’t drag yourself out of the house until mid to late afternoon. 😉 Thank you Linda!
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Thank my resident botanist for the word “crozier.” I wouldn’t have it on my own, but having heard it so often from him, it just came to mind. Wow, can’t believe you didn’t work at #7 or #24.
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Wow ! So many great pictures. I especially love 1, 2 and 3, and of course n°15, which is becomes even more captivating as you take a closer look at it. N°10 also has something special I like a lot, though I can’t put a word on it for the moment. Very nice article!
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It’s nice to hear from you, Pierre, thanks for your comment. You like the more elegant images, which is no surprise. With #10, there is something a little old fashioned, I think because of that vintage lens. I agree, it’s hard to describe, and it’s subtle but those old lenses can be nice. I hope you’re enjoying spring, or should I say, Printemps – I always liked that word!
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Your spring is absolutely beautiful! I am glad you took this walk. What a splendid variety of special flowers. I love their tender and tiny appearance! The black and white pictures are wonderful too! The bushes and little trees with the bit of light on it – so nice! The little wildflower meadow – I love it when different flowers and colours grow and bloom together. So beautiful this little composition. The forms of the ferns and other plant leaves are fantastic. Okay, before I repeat it again and again: I love them all and your descriptions are a joy to read. Nr. 21 is perfectly inperfect 🙂 Really what a special countryside and wildlife fauna! The insect in picture Nr. 16 may be a syrphid fly. I watched your links yesterday – very interesting! Good night 🙂
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Many walks! I wish I could have made a decent photo of some of the wildflower meadows I have been to, but in the sun, they just don’t work. And everything is so small, it gets lost in the grass. But that one (#23, right?) worked because it was getting late and the sun was lower. I like your description of #21….and I’m pleased that you enjoyed all of this. I wish you could be here in person to drink it in. Syrphid fly – wow, I’ve never even heard of that. I will look it up. Of course, I hoped you might have an idea about it! I bet you’re right.
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I know what you mean about the sun and the problems of taking the pictures o tiny wildflowers and meadows! Nr 23 is very nice and you did a good job on the other miniflowers 🙂 I know why I love this late light as well as the morning light, but we can’t always choose the perfect time for our pictures right. The syrphid flies are often guests on my balcony. I love them. They look very cute and they fly like mini Colibris 🙂
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# 3, 4 (the first 4) and 15 are my favorites, although if I keep looking I’ll probably pick others later. An outstanding selection, Lynn. Your use of the Pentax lens makes me think about adopting some older Nikon lenses I have for the Oly. I’ll have to check the availability of an adapter sooner rather than later.
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And weren’t you thinking about getting the 60mm macro? I used that for some of these too. You’d think if there’s an adapter for the Pentax to the Oly, there would be for the Nikon lenses. Do you have Solomon’s seal plants in your woods? I would think you would. Or in a garden near you – they are such fantastic subjects. (#3 and #4 are relatives). Thanks Ken!
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Beautiful series. Your mastery of depth of field, color and composition provides a deep and moving connection to the season.
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I don’t know about mastery, but I enjoy photographing flowers so much. I do spend a fair amount of time working on the photos afterwards, too, so I’m really pleased to read your comment, Thank you so much! What could be better than providing another means of connecting with the season?
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These are gorgeous. I’m glad you didn’t miss spring unfolding and that you brought all the right lenses — and your unique perspective. Thanks for sharing these beauties with us!
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Is the lens you have with you always the right lens? 😉 It’s such an intense time of year, and it goes by so fast. Thank you, Jean, you know I’m having fun. 🙂
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Some plant photographs satisfy scientific and educational needs. Some satisfy an aesthetic need. Yours do both. As I pay far more attention to both plant life and wildlife in my own photography I find myself, for the first time in my life, really paying attention to identification. So far, I’m pretty close to 100% at differentiating a plant from a bird. I’m sure I’ll get better. Your photographs and captions are really helping. But still, I’m mainly in it for the art. What you have done here is magnificent. Sequentially, favorites are 3, the first number 4, number 6, numbers 9 and 10, 11, and 15. I notice, and would like to complement you on the fact that you were not afraid to leave the noise in. Your subtle handling of color is an inspiration. I love your tours and your art. I don’t think I need to encourage you to do more, but nonetheless, please do more.
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separating a plant from a bird – you made me laugh! Having several field guides to the same region seems to be important; even if a plant is in all of them, the drawings/photos and info usually complement one another. But it’s still hard to ID new plants (and birds) sometimes. The captions aren’t for everyone, but there are enough people who enjoy them to make it worth the effort, I think. Looks like I have a typo, with two number fours, and if I change the numbers, the numbers people referenced already will be wrong, so I’ll leave it. Perfection is always on the horizon. 😉
Re noise, I take it out if I can sometimes – depends on the overall look, don’t you think? Do we want it really smooth, or more grainy? Each look has a place.
I love your enthusiasm. Your own work achieves so much, both technically and poetically, so the compliments are really appreciated. I won’t stop unless some major force stops me.
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Thank you. The field guides and I are becoming friends. Regarding noise, there is a horizon on my website that I titled Seurat/Rothko. The shot was done with minimal available light and I had to crank the ISO way up to get anything at all. There was noise. Even the noise add noise. I took a tip from an artist friend of mine: if you can’t fix it, feature it. Which is to say, sometimes you just go with the flow. In this case, I increased the sharpening to increase the noise.
This dialogue is a couple of days too late. A couple of days ago I would’ve said May the Fourth be with you. I’ll still say that. 😉
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Noise had noise. Typo.
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Stunnig photos! I really, really can’t say which one is my favorite!
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There is no need to pick a favorite, I’m very pleased to hear from you, and I’m happy that you enjoyed the photos. Thank you for letting me know.
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Catching up with nature! 🙂 Fine series!
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That nature, she moves fast! 😉 Thanks Harrie!
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Just to name my favorite: It’s #20. That does’n mean I ignore your refined passion for plants!
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A “refined passion for plants” – I like that, thank you. I think #20 is a bit classic looking, like it could have come from an old book. I think you have a deep respect for that, even with your very modern sensibility. But correct me if I’m wrong.
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You are right. Having a modern sensibility means, you are depending on something that stores fleeting moments. #20 reminds me of summer journeys in Scandinavia. Same colors, same atmosphere. And your usage of a longer focal length provides a classic look similar to #24. It is a way to find some interesting abstraction in natural environments. The play of light is marvelous.
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Gorgeous, of course. Love the one with the trees and the blue beyond and all others!
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The trees and the blue beyond – you’ve made so many stunning images of big views, that makes sense somehow. And as you’d guess, it’s breathtaking, that particular scene, when you’re there, but there seems to be no way to really convey that. So I’m glad the image spoke to you. Thanks Paula!
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These are beautiful, Lynn! I love how you’ve been chronicling the differences between your current and prior home 🙂 Because I can’t resist something bold, #5 is a favorite. Also a fan of #13 and #26. But really, all of them are lovely. Glad you enjoyed your trip!
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I enjoyed your Baltimore post – will comment soon – and yes, we sure enjoyed the trip. Whew, what a lot to chew on. 🙂 #5 is like high fashion, right? Really out there with the stuff! And I’m seeing the same curly frills in the other two you pointed out. A theme….
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It is always such a pleasure to see you work your magic with the camera and lens…and again a series of stunning photos. The first and fourth shots are my favorite, a little bit of nature’s magic that you’ve captured perfectly. Very much look forward to see your European photos… were you in Prague by any chance?
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I put two number 4’s in by mistake, so I’ll assume you mean the first one, but it’s all good anyway – I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. Prague would have been great, but we limited travel to countries that are convenient to where we landed (Amsterdam) plus northern Germany, where my grandparents were born and lived until they emigrated here, long ago. Leiden was great, and Ghent, and Cologne, and the German countryside (I saw the home where my paternal grandmother lived as a child). There’s an overview post before this one – just scroll back – and more coming. Thank you for being here!
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Abundance such beauty and tenderness you’ve capture with the new growth…number 7 feels like I’m right in your woods…I can’t wait for this to happen here we’re still in the beyond beige phase but with some warmth and moisture soon it will pop here too 💚 have a beautiful day Lynn 💛💫☺️
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Abundance, yes, soon coming to an outdoor space near you….
You must be chomping at the bit. Get ready!!! 🙂
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Thank you for a wonderful album, it was kind of a harsh winter here, we’re enjoying and soaking up the sun and appreciating the new growth even more than usual, and your distillation of spring is a real tonic and balm. The first half-dozen shots remind me of a millinery shop, the ferns would make great braid for a fancy hat, and #27 would make a snappy emblem. And as always, you give the quiet ones a moment in the spotlight, the humble huckleberry bush in #24 would probably be passed over as a nonentity by most, but I like that “light in the forest” shot a lot, and the nice mysterious, chiaroscuro #18 (I think I learned the fancy Italian term reading comments on your posts! ). The whole album is a success, not a clinker in the lot, a beautiful treat start to finish.
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When northern winters are harsh, spring is very intense – everyone has so much pent up energy. I like the millinery shop idea….totally appropriate. It’s the “emblematic” shape of Vanilla leaf that drew me in to take the photo, #27. They are really cool little plants. Fancy Italian words come in handy, don’ they? 😉 Wish I’d learned a few fancy Flemish words while in Holland and n. Belgium, but wow, what a language! Tough to comprehend. I think all I learned was entrance and exit from riding the tram, and I’ve already forgotten the words. Thank you Robert, and may your feet take you outdoors….
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Beautiful. Love the green tones in #3.
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I was lucky with the light in that photo. Thank you very much, Graham! Wouldn’t some of these make good mandalas?
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Certainly would!
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Someone once said to me in Costa Rica, “Lisa, you’re the only one with enough balls to stay during the rainy season.” He was right – most wanted to enjoy the sunny weather, but dodged the rainy season. Not me, I wanted to see things at their ‘worst’ (most soaked) and to see where problem areas were, etc etc etc… Of course you were anxious to know what was happening in your new environment!
Many of the birds here remain MIA, and I just finished uploading the reports to ebird. I hope that my area is just a tiny pocket of problems – and the rest of the world reports a healthy population of birds.
I will leave this on the screen and enjoy these images at home! |Until next time online, |Lisa
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Well, happily, it was more eager anticipation than anxiety. I knew there would be wildflowers in the places I’ve been going since last summer, and I was eager to see what they were. Most of these places feature balds, or bluffs – places that are open and get more sun. And they’re only minutes away from each other, but each place seems to have a very different mix. Today I found a larkspur that I haven’t seen in any other location – a short little deep purple beauty. Maybe your MIA birds is a blip in the larger pattern. Only time will tell, but I hope that’s the case. It’s good that you’re reporting to ebird, because I’m sure there are nowhere near as many reports from your area as there are from many places in the US. Take care Lisa, thanks for visiting…I will return the favor soon.
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The world seen through your eyes and lens is a joy, Lynn – I am always reminded to see in new ways when looking at your work. #27 is such a lovely composition – rich and varied in texture and line.
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Thank you Lynn….#27 is one of those compositions that happen in the plant world and just knock you out. Would a gardener dream of this? I guess it’s possible – plant Vanilla leaf with Lady fern, for starters. But how likely would this arrangement be? The symmetry was amazing. I’m glad you enjoyed the post, and I bet you’re out there in your beautiful garden right now!
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Ah yes, I’m finally getting into the garden – next week school is over and I plan to disappear into the woods and garden for a few months.
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Such beautiful images Lynn. And so like home. We too are out and about in the forest near home most days watching the unfolding of all the new growth. I love spring, the energy of renewal, and new life, though it’s been awfully dry here too. Still there are dandelions and tiny white daisies in abundance.
Alison
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So dry! It’s crazy, isn’t it? What will the summer be, if it’s already this dry? But everything is still very green, and I’m happy to hear you’re enjoying it as much as I am. I find that the different bluffs and balds around here, though close to one another, each have a very particular flora. It’s endlessly fascinating. Thanks for stopping by!
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This is a wonderful collection of images, Lynn, nearly all of them get the nod from me, but the first two really knock me around – which is maybe why they’re the first two – I’m irresistibly reminded of the film Alien. A
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Nothing like knocking a good friend around….and yes, I put those first becasue I thought they were more arresting than most of the others, but I didn’t think of Alien. 🙂
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All wonderful…but I’m really drawn in by the shapes and curves of the fiddleheads. They really are amazing. You have a great botanical array to choose from!
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I think you can find great botanical subjects anywhere there’s flora….it’s just a matter of investigating. 🙂 Thank you, Howard.
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Quelle sublime metteuse en lumière que tu nous fais.. Un immense merci à toi..
Et j’aime beaucoup la 17 et son abstraction..
Merci pour ce plaisir des yeux.. Sourire
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Merci Irene, je suis si heureux que vous ayez apprécié ce post. C’est un plaisir de faire les photos et de vous accueillir ici.
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What a breathtakingly gorgeous post you’ve shared with you! You are a gifted and observant naturalist, and a wonderful photographer as well. And your writing is so evocative that I feel as if I’d been right there with you, making these little discoveries one at a time. Your image of the spring colors reflected in a stream at Rockport State Park is my favorite. It’s so ethereal (reminds me of Monet for some reason) and perfectly captures both the boldness of the spring colors and also how fleeting the season is. I’m glad to returned from Europe in time to see the change of seasons.
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That’s a lot to live up to, but thank you very much. I’m thrilled that you felt like you were along for the ride – or walk. The stream reflections is more abstract, and I like to do that just as much as more realistic images, but I tend to see fewer abstracts. Thanks so much for visiting!
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A superb collection of fine images that reflect and share your deep love of the natural environment. Your use of light is particularly effective.
I’m pleased Spring was put on ‘hold’ while you were away!
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Spring moved slowly for a while I guess, and now it’s really speeding up – we have very warm temperatures and no rain for weeks. Good thing I got back when I did! I know you understand, Louis – thank you!
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I love the balance in the values of No. 15 (fast moving stream), and the exquisite tonality of your Chocolate Lily. Welcome home!
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It’s always good to hear from you, John. It seems that photographs with somewhat less contrast can be harder to do, or maybe it’s more accurate to say that it’s a bit easier to make an image that gets attention if you have high contrast. You excel at subtle tones, so if I’ve come half as far with a few of these, that’s good. 🙂
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Spring in the forest in the temperate climate zone is always something special. And you been able to capture the magic in these images.
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Well said, Otto – I just love spring at this lattitude. Than you!
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Great reminder; I need to get out and shoot some spring (or at least some more – I’ve dabbled a little with macro.) I like #1, the orchids, #4 (b/w), and #18, the others are nice too. We have bleeding heart and trillium in the yard, and of course fern.
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I hope it’s not too late – we’re having very warm weather and very little moisture, so it already looks like summer here. Crazy. Enjoy the Bleeding hearts, the Trillium and the ferns!
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A beautiful collection (as expected;-) and I took the same approach – the spring photos need to get out now, the rest can wait!
Many of those plants are completely foreign to me but it’s interesting to see some slight overlap here and there – we have a Deathcamas here too (Toxicoscordion fremontii), for example.
#4 works really well in this aged/sepia look, the velvety softness of these leaves seems to get amplified by it. My favorite though is the Bleeding Heart – I really like the wide & inclusive framing that you’ve chosen (a reminder & inspiration for myself;-).
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Yes, desert plants and our flora up here are so different. And yet – that’s interesting about the Toxioscordion. Maybe you have larkspur flowers in your area? I found a larkspur here on the island, which was a surprise. It seems to be one, isolated population. It makes you wonder how they got there. I’m glad to hear your thoughts about #4. The plants in that group have a similar look, and I think they all tend to look good in monochrome.
Inclusive! Photographers are always being reminded to focus on the “one thing” and to try to eliminate extraneous detail. And I do think that’s good advice. It can be hard to manage all the detail that many outdoor scenes have, too – another reason to move in closer. But when a composition with more in it works, it’s nice, right? Thank you so much, I really appreciate your comments.
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Well, it’s not all desert down here (thankfully) – near the coast the mediterranean climate and chaparral provide many different biomes and interesting ecotones.
We do have larkspurs here – a red one, https://www.alex-kunz.com/scarlet-larkspur-delphinium-cardinale/ and different kinds of blue ones as well (in fact, I photographed a blue San Bernardino Larkspur on a local trail just a few days ago – it was an exciting find as I’ve never seen them before on that trail). 🙂
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Right, of course, the habitat varies….and oh my, that Scarlet larkspur is spectacular! The red comes through in an intense, but somehow still subtle manner. Especially the final horizontal photo – wow. And I like the leaf study, and the bud. But the blue of many larkspurs (and garden delphiniums) is so beautiful, isn’t it? I look forward to seeing the San Bernardino one.
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Your *seeing eye is as observant as ever Lynn! A really lovely array of images .. love how you experiment with different processing of your photos .
I feel like I’m down on my knees peering to get closer . It seems inspite of travelling you’ve not missed Spring after all 🙂
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Spring waited just long enough. 🙂 And boy, do I love it! I’m glad you’re back, and thanks for the good words. 🙂
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Yes ! It’s so very uplifting after dormant winter time which of course can bring a whole different perspective to life and nature .
Many thanks Lynne .. it does feel good to be back 😉
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Such beauty … stunning photos! They are so very special .. the light in 7 and 24 is so delicate, teasing! Love number 20 🙂.
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That kind of light happens a lot in our forests….it’s a privilege to see it again and again. Thank you, Julie!
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I love…love the images with the subjects highlighted by the sun coming through the canopy with the darkness remaining around them…#7, 23, and 24…. So very nice, Lynn.
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Thank you, Scott – like I was saying above to Julie, that kind of light happens regularly here, I guess because of the dense canopy, with openings here and there. And then it’s less rainy than many other places in the Pacific northwest, so sun does happen. 🙂
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I know what you mean about catching up. With all the rain we’ve been having I haven’t got out as much as I would prefer and have missed a bunch of stuff already. Glad to see that you haven’t and captured a whole lot of Spring goodness. Our starflowers are all white so I am envious of your nicely pink tinged petals. That shaft of light is sublime. Another fine lot of excellent work, Lynn.
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Oh, I hope you’re keeping up now, Steve….I was out today with a native plant group (field trip) and there was still SO much blooming – it’s wonderful. Those starflowers seemed to accompany us wherever we went, whether we were in a dryer, more open woods or a wetter lowland one. They are sweeeeet! Thank you!
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We are still a little slow here, but what I saw over the weekend is encouraging for my vacation week starting this Friday. I usually have a local week of vacation in May to prowl for flowers.
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Slow may be good….buds, early stages of leaves unfurling, etc. I bet you’ll have a great time.
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Thanks, Lynn. I definitely am hoping for a run of luck.
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Wonderful spring images, Lynn. I especially love the curled up ferns. That Death Camas is so deceptively innocent looking. Who would think something so pretty could be so toxic? 😯
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Yes, who would think, and how was that determined? 😉 Thanks so much – there may be more coming!
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I finally got a chance to go back and enjoy this post. Lovely! For me 3. is an especially luscious photo. I’m glad you got back in time to see the last of the early unfolding.
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I like “luscious” for #3, Sheri, thank you. Are you seeing most of these? I’ve been endlessly fascinated by the subtle differences between the flora here and the flora on the eastside.
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Yes, I see most of these. I’ll try to keep an eye out for ones you capture that I don’t see, now that I know you’re interested in comparison. It’s a little tough since I’ve frequented the area where you are now and so I recognize flora and don’t remember whether I’ve seen it here or there. My memory tends to generalize and appreciate things filed into my own context rather than the precise details of context where I discovered them.
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Oh, I laughed, reading that you can’t remember where you saw a flower – how familiar is that feeling?!? My memory works in impressions, so I get what your’e saying. But it IS fascinating to see how different this more maritime climate is – it’s a lot drier but then there’s fog on the shorelines. There are things I never saw on the east side, like Shore pine, a relative of Lodgepole pine. Lots of cool wildflowers too, but very few Vine maples. i miss those.
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Some amazing images there Lynn. 4 and 9 are my favorites but they’re all amazing. Nature beats all doesn’t she ?!
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I’m a sucker for that soft look, Tina, and I’m glad you liked those photos. Yes, nature absolutely beats all – and it’s good to hear from you! I hope all is well on the island.
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Beautiful nature images!
I like all of them!
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Thank you so much!
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Pingback: Stories in the End | Daily Inkling – Normal Happenings
Do unfurling ferns lead you to see unclenching fists, as they do me?
The subject in #21 is happily eccentric (i.e. ex-centric, i.e. off-center).
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Those particular fern fronds really looked like little fists to me, Steve – not always, but yes for sure sometimes. Thanks for the fun comment on #21. I try to keep life off center at least some of the time. 🙂
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My second comment sprang from having taught math, in particular analytic geometry, where every ellipse has an eccentricity associated with it. The kind of ellipse we call a circle has an eccentricity of zero because it’s not at all off-center: every point on the circle is equally far from the center. In contrast, the longer and skinnier an ellipse is, the higher its eccentricity. We persistent photographers have a different sort of eccentricity.
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Hi Lynn, I really appreciate your careful, slow observations of the small corners of the forest. Beautiful
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Thanks so much! Slow is right – I can take a looooong time to go a half mile. I appreciate your stopping by and commenting.
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🙂
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Lovely collection and signs of spring! I love the embryonic fiddlehead ferns, the shadow/highlight play of the red huckleberry and the black & white chocolate lilies. The abstract reflection of the stream in Rockport Park was another stand-out … nice use of a slow shutter speed!
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Hi Denise, good to hear from you – I am impossibly behind on blogs but will catch up eventually. This is such a nice comment, it’s greatly appreciated. I hope you’re enjoying Spring.
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some really beautiful images here
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Thanks Lenny, this is what I love to do….but there are other subjects I like to play with….I hope you can take a look around some more, maybe check out the Flickr page too. So good to hear from you!
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