Wednesday, March 23, 2016

A Second Look--March 23, 2016

Spring officially started on Sunday, but not before winter had one last fling. It snowed on Saturday night and while the snow was pretty intense at times, there was no accumulation because most of it melted when it hit the warm ground. The first daffodil bloomed this week along with a couple of buds on the peach tree. My yard seems a little slow in its spring growth compared to some others around, but it's getting there and that is making me very happy. 

Here are a few things I saw this week 
during a Second Look.

Peach tree buds


Maple tree blooms, Can you say allergies?


The first daffodil bloom. There have been a few others since then.


I have seen three new calves so far in the field behind me.


Moon and Jupiter. I don't have a good enough camera to see much, but that is a gibbous moon and the little white dot is Jupiter.


Spring, summer, winter, or fall, the downy woodpecker is a faithful visitor to the feeder.


7 comments:

  1. Oh, my daffodils aren't quite ready to bloom yet! We are supposed to get some freezing precip today so I don't think this is the week we will see them. I will bore you with one of my favorite poems by William Wordsworth:

    I wandered lonely as a cloud
    That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
    When all at once I saw a crowd,
    A host, of golden daffodils;
    Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
    Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

    Continuous as the stars that shine
    And twinkle on the milky way,
    They stretched in never-ending line
    Along the margin of a bay:
    Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
    Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

    The waves beside them danced; but they
    Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
    A poet could not but be gay,
    In such a jocund company:
    I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
    What wealth the show to me had brought:

    For oft, when on my couch I lie
    In vacant or in pensive mood,
    They flash upon that inward eye
    Which is the bliss of solitude;
    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
    And dances with the daffodils.

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    1. I understand why that poem is a favorite of yours. Thanks for sharing. Daffodils are beautiful flowers especially because they are some of the first to punctuate the grays of winter.

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  2. Pretty photos as usual! Daffodils are gorgeous, but they have come and gone here. Bummer! I have seen very few peach trees blooming here, but the plums and cherries have been magnificent

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    1. Cherry trees always put on a big show around here, but I don't have any in my yard. This weekend is supposed to be peak viewing for the cherry trees in Washington, DC. I have gone once to the Cherry Blossom Festival and it is a beautiful sight. However, the crowds and logistics of getting there are not so much fun.

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  3. Lovely photos... and you know, I think I may have actually seen a downy woodpecker in my yard a few days ago (before the blizzard.) I'm not much of a bird watcher, but the cats do enjoy jabbering at them through the windows. Actually, I like watching the birds, I'm just too lazy to learn all of their names! Anyhow, I hope our storm doesn't come your way and ruin all of those pretty flowers like it did mine! :-)

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    1. I've been a slow learner in learning the names of my backyard birds. Sometimes, I forget their names from season to season, but, I know a whole lot more than I did a couple of years ago. The cats and I both enjoy watching them.

      I don't think we're going to get your snow. It's too warm here now for much accumulation. Good luck shoveling out.

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  4. I've noticed spring has slowly been showing around here too. Sunday I found the maple tree is starting to bud when I found all the litter on the deck. :-)

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