APRIL INTO MAY...4

The understory of our woods are finally rising and shining. This hosta is one of many varieties that I have, they were all given to me by family and friends when we first bought our property. I was walking through the woods noticing all the different forms and intricate patterns taking shape in this spring season.

Dogwood trees dot the woods this May, even the underside of bracts are attractive.

The fungus growing on fallen logs even offers different color palettes, blending with falls' little treasures still covering the ground.

Reaching for the sun...

A Dogwood "bloom" actually consists of four bracts with 15-20 small flowers in the center.

Acorns...more remainders of fall...the squirrels are slacking!
Does anyone know what these are?....I really don't want to say what we referred to them as when we were children, I'm sure some of you used to call them the same!
Moss....everywhere. I love moss, it's as if the woods are carpeted. We have many varieties of moss here, too.

My ferns are sprouting from underneath the leaves...love the texture and shape of them in the Spring. They remind me of serpents rising and unfurling from the sea!

APRIL INTO MAY...3

The undergrowth in the woods is sprouting a variety of interesting shapes and colors. At this point, this bush almost looks tropical.

The top of a Ponderosa Pine sporting a growth spurt! This is kind of neat to watch over the course of time...each day, you never know what it's going to look like...it changes shape that quickly.

Same variety of plant as the first capture...in an earlier stage.

The Eastern Redbuds are beginning to leaf out now and take on a new look for Spring.

Apple tree buds and blooms

A damselfly enjoying the sunset
The Pear tree blooms... with the setting sun coloring the woods in the distance.
Almost looks like blooms...this was some type of slow growing pine tree given to us...the blushing peach is new growth.

Can a flower look happy?!

APRIL INTO MAY...1

I like to place bulbs all around the woods' edge...here, the daffodils greet you as you begin your walk up this path.

While looking down on the ponds' edge for my dragonflies, I liked how the Weeping Cherry tree framed my view of the pond. This poor tree was a skeleton by summers' end, due to the Japanese beetles feasting on its' leaves. It was a breezy day, my capture isn't the sharpest and my tree barely made it for the big Spring presentation...but, you get the idea.

A couple here... and a couple there

I have pink, purple and yellow hyacinths scattered in my beds.

Some form of wild flowering grass that begins to bloom in April and profusely in May. This grows in mass all along two sides of the pond...so pretty in the dappled shade, isn't it?

Confession...these two tulip plants I claimed off of Moms' Easter dinner table setting...both were planted along the waterfall edges.

Enjoying the warmth of a sunset

MARCH TO APRIL...6

It's time for me to play catch up with my journal here at Wishnik Woods. It's been over two weeks since I've posted due to technical problems ....again. We had a virus and attempted to install a couple of new security programs, hopefully we found a good match now. Life has been a whirlwind these past couple of weeks. Among it all, we also had to put down one of our indoor cats, Isabelle. She was a sweet, tiny cat who suffered from kidney failure. She looked just like her mom, Patches, except with long hair. It wasn't an easy thing to do, I'll miss her.

Spring has finally arrived, but as usual, old man winter still made a few final appearances. March and April this year have been extremely windy for us, challenging me as I was trying to photograph. We have had a potpourri of weather, as you will see in these six part posts. This post represents the most current conditions, as you go back to part one...I'm taking through mid-April back to March. My Daffodils weathered warm temps in the 60's, and a day later were snow covered. This cycle has been repeated and it's amazing how they have survived and still look beautiful through all of the seasons' changes. Notice how the bees have survived as you go through the posts, it's interesting that when I first saw them in early March, with no blooms to rely on, they invaded my bird feeders. After that, they moved unto the Redbud blooms and then my Japanese Willows.

On an early morning walk, my daffodils shimmered with ice crystals... they almost appear to be sprinkled with coconut!

I couldn't resist photographing this shot. At the end of the waterfalls, leading into the pond, this daffodil and her silhouette are striking against the backdrop as the sunset graces the waters' surface. What could be more perfect? A dragonfly casually perched on top of the stem!

A Dwarf Weeping Cherry Tree is presenting her Spring blooms. This beauty is located on the ponds' edge, by late July, practically every leaf is eaten by Japanese beetles.

Even though the dandelions are considered a menace, I actually like the flower itself...looks like I'm not the only one. Now that I've finally caught up with my posting, it's time I play catch up enjoying other blogs.

MARCH TO APRIL...5

MARCH TO APRIL...2

On a rainy day...I found color looking out the kitchen window. The intensity of the red coloring of my Eastern Redbuds deepened.

Redbud blooms reaching for the early evening sky as the moon begins to rise.

Three different sunsets shown in this post...

I was photographing this view when Bandit casually took her place on the rock and decided to take in the sight as well! I wondered what she was thinking as she gazed into the water. Was she capable of enjoying beauty through her eyes?

This was the overall view of the above photo with Bandit.

Home, Sweet, Home
I thought it would be nice to show how quickly the setting sun deepened the colors across the sky and pond. There is approximately one and a half minutes between the times taken of each of these photos.