I took a nature walk out into the yard with the camera to document Spring yesterday.
Along the road I found clumps of bright yellow flowers. They are almost the first thing that blooms in the Spring but I have never taken the time to identify them. They come up through all the roadside debris – simply flower stalks and no leaves. Leaves come later, wonderfully web-foot shaped with tiny black dots around the edge. All last summer, as I walked our road I marveled at these leaves and didn’t know what they were. Now I do: Coltsfoot. While I was out there looking for more evidence, I found some very exciting things just on the verge of actual bloom. I took a long look at the forsythia in our garden. 
It is in bloom elsewhere but in our yard it is still wrapped up tight. It is looking very yellow, however, and I imagine another warm day or two will pop it open. In the woods I found Red Trillium still closed but ready to open to show the three incredible blood red petals that give it its name. I found Bloodroot which I had transplanted into the garden last Fall – a delicate little white flower that pops out of the ground on a stem looking for all the world like a shy little maiden wrapped in an exquisite green cloak. This one is not open yet but when it does it will look daisy-like. The plant gets its name from the fact that the root oozes a red liquid when broken. The leaves, when they do unfurl after the bloom fades are deeply lobed and distinctive. And it’s poisonous.
I’ve posted two other photos, the bright green poke-y points of the Day Lily coming up that I mentioned in the last post and the Ladies Mantle, another transplant into the garden last year. I’m very excited that it made it through the winter. I love the delicate sprays of tiny green flowers that will appear later, and the way the dew collects on the pointed edges of the leaves.
You can see that Spring is clearly getting ready to spring in its slow and subtle way. God is so faithful as He brings the seasons one upon another.
