Flowers are blooming, shrubs are alive with fragrance and color, and spring is in full swing. Last Wednesday, I posted landscape shots of the front yard, and today I offer details of some of those lovely bloomers.
Rhododendron
Rhododendron thrive in the Pacific Northwest. Their broad evergreen leaves provide an understory cover for birds, and their brilliant blossoms, while short-lived, are a vibrant addition to spring gardens.
Lilac
This particular Lilac is so fragrant folks walk across the street to breathe in it’s essence.
Sweet Alyssum
I was pleasantly surprised to find this pot of Sweet Alyssum and Chrysanthemum wintered over and is quite exuberant in it’s place on the entryway to our home.
Columbine
Self-seeding and a sun-lover, Columbine is a welcome wildflower.
Calla Lily
A transplant from my sister’s garden, Calla Lily is a graceful, sensuous addition to my spring gardens. Thanks to Patti for this challenge. With an overcast sky, and no wind, I was able to use the macro feature on my camera to take these photos today. What a treat!
Wishing everyone safe harbor, as we navigate onward. Please mask-up and stay safe.🐾
From the middle of a thicket of vines, or on the ground amid dense marsh grass, a rattled trill calls out in defiance of my presence. Wrens are notorious for sounding like they are scolding – this one seems more so because it is essentially invisible. My attempt to get a clear photo finally panned out with one clear shot after many blurry images or simply snaps of empty brambles!
Marsh Wren ~ Cistothorus palustris
Marsh Wrens forage low to the ground feeding on insects and spiders. Males build up to six spherical nests and females choose one to line and lay eggs. (Birds of the Puget Sound Region)
Marsh Wren Nest
Wishing everyone safe harbor, as we navigate onward. Please mask-up and stay safe.🐾
On my beach walk this morning, there were at least 10 Bald Eagles waiting near and vying for a place to feast at the carcass of a Pacific White-sided Dolphin (not endangered) that had washed ashore at high tide.
Five mature Bald Eagles and two subadult ~ Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Several crows were in attendance as well as one Turkey Vulture.
Bald Eagle ~ Haliaeetus leucocephalus & Turkey Vulture Cathartes auraImmature Bald Eagle ~ Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Wishing everyone safe harbor, as we navigate onward. Please mask-up and stay safe.🐾
Tina dished up a favorite subject for me with this challenge! I’m in Long Beach, WA – USA and have been enjoying listening to songbirds and taking photos. Though I have a vast catalog of shots I could use, I decided to draw from this week’s sightings only.
Song Sparrow – Melospiza melodia
Song Sparrows have a complicated series of chirps in their song, which varies by region, and always cheers me. Pretty sure this guy is calling for a mate!
The marshes have shrunk substantially in the month since I was last here. These Mallard drakes (Anas platyrbychos) caught my attention, then I noticed the Bairds Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) working the edge! Below a Mallard hen tends her brood of chicks.
Black-capped Chickadee – (Poecile atricapillus)
On my morning walks chickadees, juncos and sparrows flit through the Coastal Pines, gleaning bugs and making a cheerful racket!
A few small flocks of Sanderling swooped above the shoreline, some gulls and crows gleaned along the beach – and then there was this lovely little plover.
At low tide, an adult Bald Eagle swept across the sky and landed in the sand within walking distance. Lucky me!
Bald Eagle – (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
It is goose migration time. For the past two days, I have seen and heard several flocks flying over on their way north.
I’m hopeful that by this time next year I will be ready to change my sign-off. For the present however, it is still a timely reminder!
Wishing everyone safe harbor, as we navigate onward. Please mask-up and stay safe.🐾
Seems when I’m home in Vancouver, my photos are all about what is growing in my gardens and around the neighborhood, and when I’m at home in Long Beach, my snaps are of birds and beach critters! Amy has invited us to feature the colors of April so here is another batch of flora!
I love to look up at a clear blue sky through the screen of bright yellow forsythia. An early bloomer, the shrub is somewhat unwieldy, needing hard pruning, however its yellow blossoms yield to a bright light green leaves as the flowers fade.
Grape Hyacinth naturalize and spread yearly. These were nestled amid the green grass looking like there should be an Easter egg hiding nearby!
Flowering Quince in the foreground is enhanced by forsythia in the background.
Naturalizing together, jonquils, hyacinth and candytuft make a pretty pattern in this corner.
One of my most fragrant lilacs is just starting to bloom.
Evergreen Hydrangea trails along the hand rail to my front door. The flowers bloom early, and hardy, dark green leaves soften the hard edge of steel and brick all summer long.
Jello, the fairest flower of all, tucked into one of her favorite “forts” in the back yard!
Wishing everyone safe harbor, as we navigate onward. Please mask-up and stay safe.🐾
Walking With Eagles is a collection of original poems and photographs by Lindy Low Le Coq. A lifelong naturalist, amateur photographer and bird enthusiast, Lindy’s verse, composition and photographs open a window into the essence of her subjects. Her poems and photography reflect the rich natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest.
Bald Eagles mature over the course of five years. Walking With Eagles invites the reader to take a poetic and visual tour of this odyssey.
view ~ Walking With Eagles ~ in top menu bar for a preview, though the folio is much nicer!
Lindy Low LeCoq 