Late April is a time of year where things start happening in the garden, but slowly. I walk the garden every day and can see small changes – a new leaf, or one bud in scores opening up. I was eager to leave town for a week because I knew the garden would make noticeable progress by the time I came home. When I returned, the night was dark and I couldn’t see. But when the sun rose the next morning, I was not disappointed: the grass is lush and green, the yarrow is filling in, the salvia is blooming, tulips have opened by the mailbox, and the columbine I planted last year finally bloomed. I’m happy to be home again.
Pink columbineTulip and salviaBurgundy columbinePurple columbineSalvia and tulip
Saturday we took a day off from work. We rode the train from Cannes to Nice, then walked the city. We visited the Marché aux Fleurs Cours Saleya (flower market), climbed the stairs to the top of the Château de Nice (Nice castle), ate traditional socca (savory chick pea pancakes) and pissaladière (flatbread with caramelized onions) at Chez Pipo, and finished the day at the Florian confectionery, where they had the most beautiful flower jellies and candied fruits. I did buy chocolate dipped candied orange slices there to bring home, and they are delicious.
Windows, shutters, and balconiesJust a pretty streetI love this parasolAscenseur du ChateauNice CastleStairs to the castle topRegatta in the MediterraneanNice harborNice harborViews from the castle hillThe beach at NiceDescent into Nice from the castleWoman watching the street belowNice harbor at street levelWindow display of candied clementines
The outdoor Cours Saleya market square smells like flowers and fresh air. If you’re ever in Nice, look for Marché aux Fleurs Cours Saleya (Cours Saleya flower market)– it can be hard to Google in English for “Nice”… anything. Make sure to bring cash if you want to buy from the market vendors. To limit my spending, I purposely did not get cash and opted to bring home photographs instead. Now I wish I had some of the soaps, teas, and truffle oil, though.
The dried flowers were possibly my favoriteLavender and wheat?This flower stall smelled like heavenPretty soaps ThymeBeautiful dried bouquetsFresh orangesZucchini flowersThese tomatoes were unbelievably redView from street level at one end of the marketMake your own story for this one
We drove along redbud-lined roads under a brilliant blue sky to hike not to the top of a mountain, but lower down, in a valley, where we hoped it’d be green and protected from wind. In spots where the sun shone on the trail, the air smelled like warm, golden pine needles. I heard bumblebees buzz in the quiet and saw yellow swallowtail butterflies flutter above the trail.
In February 2020, our son asked if we could go to Iceland. We told him if he still wanted to go in two years, then yes, we can go to Iceland. It’s two years later, and he still wants to go. We’re taking him at the end of May for his high school graduation gift. And after this hike, I want a new lens to take on that trip.
I brought my 35mm* lens on the hike and had fun photographing flowers and unfurling ferns. But when we stumbled on a waterfall that I had a hard time framing, I realized that my current lens is fine for the photography I typically do around here — everything I photograph is fairly close up. In Iceland, I’ll be photographing landscapes, and I want a wider, 23mm lens.
For today, though, here are some spring shots from an Appalachian forest, at Bottom Creek Gorge Preserve.
Bronze mushroomsFern fiddleheadI love spring chartreuse I can’t remember what these are calledTriliumFringed Polygala (also known as Gaywings)Spring BeautyWaterfall
*I bought a used Fujifilm X-T30 about a year ago. It is my first experience with a mirrorless camera, and the 35mm lens I have for it is the equivalent of a 50mm lens for a 35mm camera; a 23mm lens will be the equivalent of a 35mm lens on the cameras I’m used to.
My upper body can’t shovel another crumb of dirt. I tried to clean up the rest of the mulch today and my left shoulder pretty much said, No, No more of that. I put the pitchfork and wheelbarrow away.
I’m curious what the gardens look like of people who actually know what they’re doing. There’s a horticulture garden on the Virginia Tech campus, just a couple miles away from our house. I have a Fitbit again, and after four days of it gushing how great I am with all the gardening exercise, I couldn’t stand to have a day without it buzzing to tell me I’ve broken yet another record. So I grabbed my camera and went for a walk.
The cherries and Bradford pears are blooming, so there are soft pink and white petals everywhere. The light was a little flat today and I didn’t get great photos of them along the way to the horticulture garden. But once I arrived, everything I wanted to photograph was close to the ground and didn’t require shooting the sky, and all the flowers are adorable, and I felt like I was in a fairy forest.
Hellebore I think? Also known as Lenten Rose?I don’t know what these purple flowers are, but I love themGrape hyacinthAgain with the purple flowers, I love themI don’t know what these star flowers are either but they’re super cuteSee the robin on the right? Robins are funny. The hop hop hop along.Cherry blossoms (I think? I always think the pink ones are cherries, but I don’t really know anything)These trees with cascades of pink petals are everywhere on campus, and they are gorgeousLittle white violet by the duck pondHellebore budTiny grape hyacinth treesPurple flowers on a leafy floorCherry blossomsForget me nots? Cherry blossoms and Canada geeseCute blue flowers
I bought roses yesterday. February 1st marks a turning in the year, where we’re nearly halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It is the hump day of winter.
I bought roses because I wanted fresh flowers. I am not desperate for winter to end like I’ve been in the past. Instead, I’m enjoying the cold and the down time while I think how delicious the first warm day will be, and how beautiful the blossoms when they begin.
Until then, to savor both the winter and the coming spring, I might just keep buying flowers.
Butterfly Mind 