The Murmur of Spring

All the woods are alive with the murmur and sound of spring. ~ Oscar Wilde

Spring is truly here and I've been taking more photos the last couple of weeks than over the past several months. Various adorable and interesting creatures have begun to reappear in our world, and the sounds of the season are sweet and cheerful. Our dock is back in the water, to be followed shortly by the boat. Splashes of colour have painted the landscape and the grass is perceptibly greener and growing daily. Big sigh!

I have a few random photos to share with you. Most were taken two or three weeks ago. One of them still shows the ice on the lake which has kindly since melted away. Still, they're all semi-recent images. I hope you enjoy them.



Sweet, little bright-eyed Chickadee. The boldest beauty among our visitors. They have landed on Frank's hand (full of birdseed) a couple of times now. I'm hoping that my turn won't be too far behind.






Some pretty colours in the evening sky. This is the view we see out of our kitchen window. The same place the eagles were flying in the last post.






Snack time! This decadent collection of chocolate was Frank's thoughtful way of saying either "Congratulations" or "Better luck next time" when I took my driving test in March. Thankfully, it was the former and I could indulge with gusto. Erp! Thank you, Frank.






Up close and personal with the gnarly base of a beautiful old tree. It kind of looks like a lizard's face. Or perhaps ET. Hmmm I never meant that to rhyme but it does in an awkward sort of way. Let's try that again.

Up close and personal with the gnarly base
Of a beautiful old tree.
It kind of looks like a lizard's face
Or perhaps ET.
(I'm so easily amused.)






A cling on from last autumn.






Another holdout from just before winter. They must have been pretty, little bell flowers at one time.






Here's that still-icy lake view. We were in the middle of a weather change - from cold to warm - and the fog just enveloped the trees like a silky, sheer scarf. I took a ridiculous number of photos, and processed many of those. I'll only inflict this one on you (this time).






The landscape looks a lot more like this now. This is a little spot called Paradise Landing.






This tree bark has a certain.. a-peel.






At the edge of our property, everyone's favourite spring bud - pussy willows.






Purple crocus. It was like a fresh breath of spring air to see them growing outside our kitchen door. Thank you, Spring!

I'll have some critter photos for you next time.

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