Dream Woods

Digging myself out from under a massive pile of garlic mustard to post some photos of a neighboring woods....the kind of woods I hope to have myself sometime in the future. A woods filled with Trillium grandiflorum as far as eye can see with not a single garlic mustard plant to found:

Now, excuse me as I head back out to my woods to pull more garlic mustard, so that my dreams of having a woods that is carpeted with trillium's (with a few jack in the pulpit thrown in for good measure) from edge to shining edge can come true.

(And this a great article if you ever wanted to know what it takes to encourage trillium in your woods.)

Forest Hike

Today I finally got out and took a long hike through a lovely wooded nature area about 15 miles from our home. I was hoping to catch the blue hepaticas in bloom, but with the early spring we are having this year, they were already done blooming.

There were plenty of other wildflowers blooming, though.

Large flowered bellwort.

A velvety brown butterfly. There were lots of these flitting around in the woods. Can anyone tell me what kind of butterfly this is?

The bane of the forest--garlic mustard--was in full bloom. (Um, yes, I pulled just about every plant I can across--in case you are wondering--thankfully there wasn't a lot of it in this woods!)

A garter snake slithered through the oak leaves

Wild Geraniums were in full bloom.

Someday...my woods will look like this.

Trillium

It seems that the trillium in our woods have doubled since we moved out here three years ago. I'm not sure if that is possible--I didn't think trilliums are a wildflower that spreads quickly. Perhaps the little plants were there, but needed us to pull the garlic mustard which has been choking the life out of the woods, so that they could breath and grow.

In any case one section of our woods has hundreds of blooming trillium and many more young plants that will start blooming in the next few years. And ever better, we are starting to see trillium popping up here and there in other parts of the woods that didn't have any in the past two springs.

Slowly, surely we will restore the health and beauty of our woods.

Salome Daffodil

A pink trumpet daffodil--and the trumpet gets pinker as the daffodil ages.

Apple Blossom in the Rain

Linked to Macro Monday.

Dandelion Field

Linked to skywatch friday.

Spring Work on 13 Acres

Our little flock of chickens gathers to watch and follow behind us as we dig out invasive weeds from our woods--garlic mustard, box alders, mulitflora roses, and autumn olives. The fight to create a beautiful, healthy woods seems to never end. The chickens don't mind, though. To them the sound of digging means only one thing--easy to find bugs and worms!

I decided to expand the garden this spring (as if I need more work to do)! Actually we decided to plow up an additional patch of ground specifically as a pumpkin patch. I don't feel obligated to keep the pumpkin patch weeded once the plants start vining. A separate patch will free up already prepared ground for more vegetables and flowers (and hopefully keep the main garden looking less weedy).

(Breaking ground for the pumpkin patch.)

The work on our little farmstead never ends. I am just grateful for two days off in the middle of this week, and the cooler weather we have right now that has slowed down the growth of weeds and invasive plants.

Ever So Lightly Frosted

Tulips are at their peak right now in my flower garden and the purple ones are my favorite. Now if only I can get those pesky moles to quit eating all the bulbs!

Linked to Macro Monday.

Happy Easter!

"...the earth is full of the glory of the risen Lord..."

Creamy Daffodils

Grateful for cooler (even chilly) weather that is extending the early spring blossoms.

Fading Daffodil

...still lovely in its frailness...

Peach Blossom and Curdled Milk Sky

Plum Blossoms

First Day of Spring

...and a few of the flowers that are blooming in my garden today...

March Spider Web

I do believe this is a first in my life--we woke up on the eve of Spring to a dewy sunrise and a field full of spiderwebs.

 It has been 80 degrees every day for the past week, with more warm weather in the forecast. The grass is green, trees are budding out, flowers are bursting into bloom, and I finally had a day off today to spend in the garden. Quite a contrast to last spring which was one of the coldest on record.

Spring Has Sprung

...and the first spring flowers have opened into the sunshine...

Linked to Macro Monday.

Promises of Spring

The first green buds break

the sandy soil beneath my feet

Overhead the wings of sandhill cranes

beat a rhythm through the clouds

their cry heard long before they are seen,

Returning from the south, two by two,

bringing with them promises of spring.

Linked to Macro Monday.

(Click here for an audio of the cry of the sandhill crane.)

Butterfly in April

Last summer I photographed many of the butterflies on our property in order to identify them. One butterfly kept eluding me through the summer, though. I would catch a glimpse of it with the distinctive red-orange bands across it's wings and a bit of bright red or orange on the under side of its wings, then it would be gone.

Yesterday when I was looking through photos from last year, I discovered to my surprise, I had taken a few photos of it on April 9th--on the freshly planted pansies.

Not the greatest photos in the world, but I am happy to have found them and am hoping one of my readers will be able to identify the butterfly for me.

Linked to Macro Monday.

Thank you to Sivinden for indentying the butterfly as a Red Admiral. You can click on this link to see some stunning photos of this butterfly on her blog.

Young Crab Apple Tree

We will be gone for a week, visiting family and friends back in the East, and attending a wedding. I may or not blog while we are away. If I don't, I will catch up with all of you when I get back!

Swan Family

Photos taken today on my way home from work today. All five babies look happy and healthy. (Click on the photos for larger images.)

 Mom and babies were so intent on preening themselves, they barely noticed me. They seemed to having a preening party. (I took lots of photos, and most looked like this one!)