Jack

Out in the woods a weird plant is blooming.

 You might not even notice that there is a bloom, because it is green.

This wild flower is called "Jack in the Pulpit".

This year it isn't only in the woods.

Back in February Mimi gave me a bulb.  It looked like a daffodil bulb.

She couldn't remember what it was.

So Granddad planted it.

About a week ago something started to come up and it grew really quickly.

Just at the exact same time as the woodland flower bloomed, so did the one in our house!

 Who ever heard of a Jack-in-the-pulpit in a pot in the house?  Not me!

If you look closely you can see "Jack" in the middle of the "pulpit".

I'll have to plant this one outside later on.

March winds

It is a beautiful day in March.  Granddad and Socks and I are sitting out back.  I am trying to decide whether to take a picture of the beautiful apple tree in full bloom or the lovely pink cherry tree.  

Granddad tells me, "Take a picture of that whirly thing and get all those colors!"

So here it is.
He loves watching the whirly thing sparkle as it spins in the sunshine.

Her Heart's Desire

"Oh please" begs Socks, "I KNOW what I want!  You can give it to me! I'm a deserving dog, I am!"

 "It's what I really really really really want!  Just open this gate, please?  

I can't stand it! It smells SO good!

Oh, please, please, PLEASE give it to me - isn't it my birthday or something?"

"Just try it" growls the grumpy groundhog.

Whatever Weather

March has been busy bouncing around from winter weather to spring.

Here's what it looked like on March 5:

 And here is what it looked like on March 6:

And I didn't get pictures of the WIND that we have had since then!

Getting Ready

Everything gets ready for Spring in its own way.

 Can you see how this vine is getting ready?

On a cool Winter morning the sun is warming the plant.

A little breeze is blowing.

 The rough dark seed pods are bursting open. Out pops feathery fluff from inside. 

The fluff starts to blow away in the breeze.

There is a tiny dark spot at the bottom of each bit of fluff.

That dark spot is a seed.

The wind takes the fluff, the fluff takes the seed, and when the wind drops the fluff the seed is planted.

The clever vine is sending out its seeds now when there are good strong winds to carry them and no leaves on the trees to stop them. 

When it is really Spring and the ground is warm those seeds will grow into vines like this all over the neighborhood.

The Wind blew

The wind blew in a burst so hard that it blew down whole trees.

You can see which direction it was blowing.

There were all sorts of trees knocked over.  I could follow the path of the wind by going from tree to tree.

The one that hit the roof of the nursing home broke a window . Wind rushed down the halls and sent papers flying.  It all happened in a quick minute.   Granddad didn't even wake up.

Winter green

Here in the dreary days of Winter most things are pretty drab.

 Grass is brown, leaves and pine needles are tan and gray.

 Stalks of weeds are dull shades. 

But the sun picks out a spot of brightness.

Oh, that is a brilliant bit of green!



It is moss.

Mosses are growing on old logs and stones.


The moss makes the stone look soft, I think.

Not too much ice on the waterfall yet, so you can see how the moss likes the moist stone in the middle.

The moss makes the rock look old, as if it has been there a long long time.   We actually put the rocks around the pond only a few years ago.  I painted the rocks with buttermilk to help the moss grow.  I love the green glow of all the mosses this time of year - our winter's green.