Two... Two... Two Days in One

I was out and about yesterday and today, but since I had my Theme Thursday post up for yesterday, I decided to post both days' shots together in one post today. I hope you don't mind!

Thursday

I just kind of wandered yesterday, ending up going down Bellevue Ave. and then heading over to the Cliff Walk and going back home that way. Below are the things that caught my attention. Below left is the trunk of an ancient, gnarled, and ivied Copper Beech along Bellevue Ave. There's something just so Ent-like about old Beeches! Below right is a Song Sparrow singing, with the ocean and Easton's Point in the background. And the bottom photo is yet more Wisteria, this time hanging over an old wooden fence above the Cliff Walk.

Friday

Today I went down to Ballard Park with a specific idea - to see how the Blue Flag patch in the Aspen grove in the Quarry Meadow was coming along. When I was down there Sunday there were buds, and considering the temps this week (we've been fairly warm) I wondered if they'd burst into bloom. Well, they sure had! We've had an unusually warm Spring this year, and the foliage and blooming schedule is at least two if not three weeks ahead of normal. These Irises don't usually bloom until into the second week of June. In any case, here's the patch of Blue Flag (Iris family) in the shade of the Quaking Aspen grove.

And of course I had to crawl up on one of the blooms to get a down-the-throat macro shot.

Also in the shade of the Aspen grove were these unknown white flowers. By the foliage and the structure of the flowers I'm pretty sure these are in the Lily family. The plant is somewhat low-lying, and the flowers are fairly small - 1/2" to 3/4" (1.27mm to 1.9mm). I've seen them here and there around town and they're almost always growing in shade. They're very pretty!

Down behind the Vernal Pond I found a hillside full of Celandine. Frank Amaral just cleared out this section between the pond and the quarry wall last year; it had been full of invasive plants, most notably Japanese Knotweed and Japanese Honeysuckle. Now that it's been cleared out more interesting plants like the Celandine can grow free from interference.

And at the top of that little hillside was a very dense patch of Buttercups. When you see these beauties you know that Spring is winding down and summer is not far away.

And that's two days' worth of pictures that passed quality control!

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger