Spring surprises
I’m about 3 days behind posting about spring’s arrival. Things change fast – a lot can happen in 3 days!
Sunday was chilly and windy. We went out to camp, where the blackflies were starting to really be a bother. And yet, I was able to go for a walk. It was so windy, they were mostly kept away. When I stopped walking to take photos, they got interested. Therefore, only a few photos of these spring beauties.
First, a big patch of something my plant app identifies as wood anemone. Other names are Nightcaps, Windflower, European thimbleweed, Twoleaf Anemone. The description says the flowers are white. But these were definitely lavender. Not sure I have the ID right. They were so beautiful though. I’m making a note of their location and the way their leaves look in my plant app. Maybe this will help me keep track of them later this year and next spring.
Close-up on leaves (five-lobed) and flower:
And the woods were full of this:
It’s hobble bush! Other names: Witch Hobble, Alder-Leaved Viburnum, Moosewood, American Wayfaring Tree. They look like lace cap hydrangeas, but those are Hydrangea macrophylla. These came in all sizes: short ones, medium ones, tall ones. All with the same lacy flower caps in full bloom. The outer flowers are sterile and the inner flowers are fertile, or so I read.
Botany is so interesting. I’m not going to make a diligent study of it though. I just want to form a relationship with the plants around me. They are a source of delight.
Catherine~ Ah, before I even finished reading the whole post, I was off looking up ‘black flies’. I’m wondering if that is what we have here? There are a couple of places we walk, where these teeny flies(?) get in your face, relentlessly. The walk to Mentryville is bad and another walk over that direction. Today they were at the bridge. This was very unusual. They are super annoying.
Anyway, as for your walk…what pretty little flowers these are! And great photos too. You use a phone? My old camera just doesn’t capture the details so clearly. Very nice Catherine. I too don’t plan diligent studies, but I like knowing more or bits and pieces.
Enjoy!
What’s most memorable about our blackflies is that they bite. They leave a nasty welt that swells up, hurts, and then itches. They especially like the areas around the ears and hairline. Nasty. Luckily they are only a spring phenomenon, they go away in the summer. I use my phone for photos. I have a camera, but I haven’t used it for years. The process is much more cumbersome with the camera.
Yeah, I talked to J. about those flies today…ours must be something different because I’ve not been bitten…and if there is a bite to be had – I’d get it!! Oy.
Your camera takes nice photos. ????
Maybe they are some kind of gnat. I remember being someplace south of here, maybe in Maryland, where the gnats were so thick, they were intolerable.
oh this definitely triggered memories of living on the east coast … mayflies, green flies, horse flies … vicious biters all of them!
here in Texas our spring flowers have gone to seed and we’re already experiencing triple digit heat along with double digit wind speeds … hair dryer weather for sure … even so, the Wildflower Center continues to be alive with the colors of the early summer bloomers
Yes, biting insects are the worst. Many times in the dead of winter I’ve said “but there are no bugs!” to cheer myself up 🙂 I don’t know if I could take that kind of heat!
What beautiful wildflowers and not familiar to me. Wonderful discoveries. Spring is my favorite season.
They were both new to me. I’ve heard of hobble bushes before, but never seen them in bloom.