And BAM...Summery Spring has arrived...

Almost all of the trees are leafed out by now. The undergrowth of the forest which includes Barberry bushes, Honeysuckle, Raspberry, Gooseberry, and other prickly things all are in blossom or getting ready to blossom.

The grass and weeds in the Meadow have sprung to life this past week. The yard grass has a life of its own seeming to grow inches each night.

Our friend Jason came out for Mother's Day with his fluff balls...

his intent was to give me time to do what I wanted on Mother's Day.

This next series of shots is from my morning out in the forest. The last shot is of one of my favorite trees that flowers. The Hawthorne tree. The flower buds still weren't quite open. I was able to spend a little more time by this tree to discover that there were six or seven little ones growing under the forest canopy.

Color me happy.

Whoops...an Allosaurus???

Jason had come to give me coverage for Rich on Monday night. Olive's Track Team had a Conference Meet at their home field and I had volunteered to come and photograph the kids doing their things.

It also meant that Rich had to be comfortable enough with Jason to allow him to help him undress and put him to bed. Rich and Jason said they had it covered and off I went.

I donate my time and the photos. I give Olive the shots and she hands them off to the Head Coach who lets the kids have their photos. 
The last time I did this the Head Coach received feedback from the students. They asked to have my name and wanted to know how much I charged. 

I had set up the ground rules ahead of time.

I remain anonymous and they get their shots.

I did get to see a few students that I'd seen the last time I'd done this. Six hours of running about on a hot spring night 'shooting' action shots was pretty fun.

My favorite event to photo is the hurdles. I only tried them one time myself, but never quite got the hang of it.

The meet went on until after dark so the 'shooting' got a bit trickier as the night went on. Still, I had great fun pushing the limits on my camera. Even with a high ISO and panning, I got a bit of motion blur. However, this was the last event and it sure was an exciting one.

Another coach suggested I try photographing the triple jump and pole vaulting ... along with some of the other events if I wanted more cool action.

I'm game to try it one day.

I probably pushed the boundaries of activity and sleep a bit. By Tuesday I was totally wiped out between being up long hours doing fun things, farm things, and having fun at the track.

When Shay came out for 4 hours of Respite care, I went to the upstairs bedroom and turned a fan on high and slept for most of that time.

Below. A photo from the Meadow back to the forest pasture. I'll be opening this gate and letting the gals out onto more grass for the summer.

[Taken in Infrared...well, because it is that time of the year!]

I have a lot more work to catch up on the outside and yard.

Mudder Day...

Becoming a mom was one of the coolest things that ever happened to me. 

I was a mom to little humans....that grew up....

Mom to mules....

Mom to dogs....

[many dogs!]

The mom responsibilities have now been passed on to the moms of my grandkids and I hope they all have a wonderful and beautiful day.

We will enjoy some company today from Jason and his dogs along with some time outdoors.

Quiet and uneventful is a good thing.

To all you Mudders out there, have a good Mother's Day.

 

The Trillium Hunt....

First off...
we had these guys

visit !!!!

Indigo Buntings!

These blue beauties visited for a day and then...well, we haven't seen them again at the feeders. However blue was the theme of the day as Blue Birds flew through in groups. Hopefully some stayed again this year.

Friday morning I had to make a decision. Did I want to go look for Trillium and other Ephemeral flowers? Or did I want to go to the gym and work my butt off and then go shopping. 
Bleh.

Decisions, Decisions.

Shay, the Home Health Aide was curious. She doesn't have a background in nature, but she knows a lot about home health care. I explained I needed [was driven] to go find Ephemeral flowers that would only present themselves for a few weeks...and then...
I'd have to wait for another spring.

Charlie and I hit the ground running [okay walking fast] when we got to KVR. Years ago when I started my Trail Challenge, I'd randomly chosen the West Ridge Trail to start one of my mid May hikes. I recall seeing more Trillium that I'd ever seen in my life.

At that time I was hiking with my friend Bill and we were putting in 'mileage' and not concentrating on the wildflowers. Covid was ravaging the country and we were doing Distance Hiking.  

Anyway... I have never gotten back to that area in May. I've gone to other spots and have been overwhelmed by Virginia Bluebells and Spring Beauties. I decided to go see if I could get lucky with the Trillium.

I hit the Jackpot!

I hit the Jackpot in several ways.

We were surrounded by everything wild and flowering.

Here is a shot of Charlie On Guard. We were sitting on the forest floor when suddenly we heard something crashing through the forest. It literally sounded like an elephant. I saw it was a large doe running straight at us like a ninny.

I raised my hands and hollered, "Hey!" The doe never missed a step, but instead of running through us, she took a hard left and disappeared through the forest. 

Charlie growled and jumped into my lap. Brave dog that he is. I can't say that I've ever experienced that before.

It seems that finding spring forest flowers has become an obsession of mine.

Last year, I'd chosen a different trail to find Trillium. I found a few but the choices of light, position, and interesting-ness of shooting them was not very good.
This year I was so overwhelmed with choices and opportunities.

Even better?
Charlie and I were the only ones there. We spent two hours alongside this trail and never encountered another human or animal. We did hear a variety of birds and an owl.

I did wish I'd had ALL day. Charlie and I had a snack, watched our time and got home on schedule.

I may have satisfied my Trillium Itch for this year and will send myself a note to make sure I go back to this trail next year.

Trilliums....☑

Next wild flowers up will be the Wild Geraniums. 

 

More cool spring flowers and trees...

Just fun things I found while out checking the meadow east of us.

Below is a little plant/flower called Pussytoes. [scientific name: Antennaria plantaginifolia]

Here is a few glimpses of what I also found while walking to the mailbox and back.

Wild Plum Blossoms 5/1.

Wild Plum Blossoms 5/5.

Spring Beauties

Macro of above flower....

Grey Dogwood

May is a crazy month for me. Fall in reverse! So many things are happening in nature that is can boggle the mind.

Trees produce new leaves and catkins. Other trees flower. On the forest floor ephemeral flowers appear and are gone quickly while other flowers and plants emerge.

I feel that if I miss a morning walk, that I miss many things.

I need to get back out to see how one of my favorite trees is doing.

The Hawthorne tree.
Its needles are sharp and the tree has an interesting shape, but the flowers they produce are pretty amazing.

These are just starting. In the woods nearby, I can only find one solitary Hawthorne tree as the other three have died.

Perhaps I'll go out this morning and see if the blossoms have opened yet.

Birds and blooms....

I prefer not to 'shoot' the birds at the feeder, but sometimes they are so fun and so wild, I just can't help myself.

I love the action shots best even if the background shows my paddock with the ugly fence and ground behind it.

These goldfinches have been absolutely wild this spring!

On some mornings I can get out and walk in the neighbor's meadow to the east of us. It is a huge meadow with the forest surrounding it.

I can hear Brown Thrashers, Crows, Robins, Orioles, Wrens, and many more birds. When I reached the far eastern edge of the meadow, I looked back and there was Sunshine my 28 year old mule watching me from her pasture.
 

I stood quiet for a long time and was so surprised to see an owl! I'm pretty sure it is a Barred Owl. He/she is near a spot where we used to find Owl Pellets.

Eventually, it flew away.

These Palm Warblers are making nests in the multiflora rose bushes. Aren't they smart? They pick the worst and nastiest thorny spots to keep their nests safe.

I don't have a very good shot of the Catbird but they were singing back and forth across the meadow.

This is the time of year when I want to be out in the meadow or forest every single morning.

This was another 'nap' time foray. I was back home before hubby woke up and quite pleased with what I was able to find.

The wild apple trees are just starting to show color and blooms.

The forest is exploding with Virginia pinks and other flowers. But I'll have to get to them tomorrow. I need to get a lot of farm work done today.

Enjoy some birds and blooms....