Was there ever a more unexpected combination? Growing in and among the skunk cabbages are these beautiful, delicate violets. More than that, these are white violets, not the typical dark blue violets we see so many of.
The violets have such a delicate fragrance and the skunk cabbages... well, don't break one and you won't have to learn about their smell!
This scene looks like a terrarium to me. It was an overcast day. The tree branches are just beginning to bud, and the light is filtered perfectly, evenly, wonderfully down to the forest floor.
This is on the bank of the Cowhorn Creek, literally in the middle of the city. This spot is no more than 4 blocks from the busiest streets in Schenectady. Well, assuming you climbed the hundred feet or so out of the valley. But there's almost no traffic noise down here, it's easy to completely forget that I'm in the city at all, and imagine I'm in a primeval forest.
I haven't figured out how to get good photos of the birds down here yet, so that's why there haven't been any. Photos, that is. Birds there are aplenty. I saw 2 species of
woodpecker,
robins,
cardinals, several varieties of finches I couldn't name,
chickadees,
nuthatches,
sparrows,
mallard ducks and
wood ducks. No
Canada geese though - they've found better feeding grounds by now.
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This is the first snail we've seen since last autumn. It was doing its thing on a skunk cabbage leaf.
It's a sure sign of spring when the skunk cabbages begin their rise out of the swamp and snow. These are about a week old now. They generat their own heat, which makes the little green plants happy!
A very quiet place and very still water. This is a stream, and we haven't had rain in a few days, so it's a little low and not running very fast. Perfect for a still-life portrait.
Was there ever a more unexpected combination? Growing in and among the skunk cabbages are these beautiful, delicate violets. More than that, these are white violets, not the typical dark blue violets we see so many of.
The infamous skunk cabbages at the bottom of Vale Cemetery. They are emerging slowly from their early casings. They are about a foot tall now (30cm) .
Not processed; this is what the camera saw. I went walking through Vale again, and found a patch of snow with a baby skunk cabbage just melting through to the surface. You can see how the plant made a little bubble of warmth under the snow. The plant itself hasn't reached the top of the snow, but it was warm enough to melt the snow above it.
Marguerite-Marie gave me the idea for some photos of spring. Well, Bretagne is a bit farther along than we are, but the first sign of our spring plants have popped out: Skunk cabbage.
