Nature Does Not Knock

How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!

~ Emily Dickinson

Just a few photos taken over the past month. I hope you enjoy them.

These lovely sprigs of coral coloured flowers are growing wild in the field near Frank's place. We see them every spring but neither of us know what they are. If any of you know what they are, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me. Thank you to Gayle, Teri and Photowannabe for all identifying this lovely plant as Flowering quince or Japonica. Ain't the blogging community great? :)

This little cutie takes a break from munching and a offers an endearing pose for the camera.

New leaves-to-be. I snapped so many photos of freshly-emerged leaves. I just couldn't seem to get enough of them.

These little blossoms looked so perfect just basking in the warmth of the sun.

And then they shared the sunlight with a colourful friend in transit.

While walking, one morning, I happened upon what I thought was two squirrels which I had presumed to be young siblings, play-fighting and chasing each other up over branches and around the tree trunk. It finally occurred to me that it was actually one young squirrel and its mother. The little one wanted to nurse and the mom had probably had enough of her little one for a short while. Junior won though - as you can see in this image. Nom, nom.

There's not to much to see here. I just liked the way the sunshine warmed the rich colours of this young tree.

On a day trip that we took a few weeks ago, Frank and I stopped at a lake just to have a look around. We glanced up and realized that we were looking at a platform which was constructed for an Osprey's nest. Just as that dawned on us, we saw the mama circling her nest. Cool birds, aren't they?

This little goldfinch looked so pretty sitting amid the blossoms. 

And if you want to get a closer look at those blooms, I'm happy to oblige.

Just as a note, this was my 600th post. I should have another one for you in a few days.

The Spring Came Suddenly

The spring came suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh and a shout and hands full of flowers. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Everyone is saying it.

This March is the warmest one any of us can recollect. After a short, mild, mostly-snowless winter, spring seems to have arrived boldly, swiftly and packing the heat of a mid-June afternoon. Temperatures have been in the twenties celsius (70 to 78 F) for over a week now, and buds which usually begin to show signs of minute growth in April, are showing measurable growth daily.

The images below were taken March 11 through 16. They depict my first photographic signs of budding and growth. Everything has changed considerably since then. So I'll have more photos in a few days.

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

The clamours of spring are the same old delicate noises,The earth renews its magical youth at a breath. ~Arthur Symons

Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm. ~ John Muir

Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment. ~Ellis Peters

Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.
~Lewis Grizzard

Poor, dear, silly Spring, preparing her annual surprise! ~Wallace Stevens

I glanced out the window at the signs of spring. The sky was almost blue, the trees were almost budding, the sun was almost bright. ~Millard Kaufman

"The force of Spring -
mysterious,
fecund,
powerful beyond measure."
- Michael Garofalo

"When the time is ripe for certain things, these things appear in different places in the manner of violets coming to light in the early spring." ~ Farkas Bolyai

When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. ~Ernest Hemingway