What a difference a week can make!
Last week my #WednesdayWalk was all about the fresh snow covering - fast forward a week with a few days of gentle showers and Voila!
The pussy willows have burst and the cottonwood catkins broke bud, the first flowers of spring - crocuses are in bloom! Plus today I spotted some butterflies feeding on the sap from a wounded tree - it truly is spring!
Painted Lady Butterfly Feeding on the Sap of a Damaged Tree
This tree had a sapsucker drilling holes in it then it broke with the weight of a heavy wet snowfall. When the sap starts to rise it flowed out of the wounds - perfect feed for the butterflies!
Pussy Willows Gracing the Tree Branches
When the snow starts to go and the sap starts flowing I watch for the emergency of the soft white pussy willows - such a delight! These appear even before the green flush from the leaves (that should be happening on next weeks walk.)
Every spring I take a tour down to the pine meadows hunting for the first blooms of spring - the crocuses!
They amaze me how hardy they are even appearing before all the snow has gone! These too are fuzzy little things with their leaves protected by fuzz!
Crocuses (Anemone patens)
Fuzzy Leafed Crocus
These crocuses are not to be confused with the common crocuses planted in gardens for early spring bloom. These are the wild prairie crocus (Anemone patens)
Garden Crocus for Early Bloom Pick Wick Variety
With all this melting snow and our first April showers, I've got my rain barrels out and pretty much full - great for the gardening season. We just pulled the cover onto our covered garden after the rainfall so those full rain barrels will come in handy!
'Til next time, I hope you all get out and enjoy some of the wonders of nature!
Photo Crocus Pick Wick variety by James A. Guilliam/Getty Images
Rest of the images were taken with my Canon PowerShot A495
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