Spring!

There were a few days back toward the beginning of April that I was wondering if we were going to skip spring and move right on to summer.  Thank goodness Mother Nature righted herself, because I love spring trees!  I know, I know.  I love trees no matter the season, but there's something about trees in the spring.  The bright green of new leaves against the dark bark. Sigh. Love.

Also, very distracting when you're driving because the subtleties of the spring colors and shapes are much harder to see from the road than say, the colors in autumn.

In spring, the trees change so quickly!  This means that if you want to capture the new leaves and the shimmery flowers, you can't wait for the weekend.  You have to try to capture the intriguing beauty right then.

This is a round-about way of my saying that for several hours on several different days, I dashed around like the fool for trees that I am, trying to capture the diversity of tree flowers and the emerging leaves. Unfortunately, I only had my camera phone, so not all the photos turned out.

But some of them did!  These photos are what I'll be sharing for the next several weeks.  Whether spring has already sprung in your part of the northern hemisphere, or whether it is still waiting out the last dregs of winter, I hope you'll enjoy spring here in Maryland.

Orchard

I've been taking pictures almost every day for this blog. Pretty amusing when you consider one of the reasons we started the blog was because we each had so many tree photos. We love our trees.

Apparently, several studies have shown that walking in wooded areas, among TREES, reduces cortisol levels, the stress hormone. We could have saved them the study funds and told them ourselves.

Today's stress reducer - an apple orchard getting ready to bloom.  I love the old trunks and uplifting branches. Follow up picture next week

Companion...

Didn't that little tree cast a grand shadow?

Live large. Click it big.

Cheers!

Shadow...

You're getting the sequel today and the original tomorrow. Click it big, because the shadow is worth it. 

Now, there's a shadow that would be hard to stitch back on. 

Saturday!

Looking Up

Although this almost looks like it could have been taken in the spring, it was actually taken last fall.  It was a particularly hard day, following a number of other particularly hard days.  I went outside and leaned back again this tall, strong tree, closed my eyes, and just let it support me while I breathed in and out, smelling the clean, leaf-scented air.

Eventually, I opened my eyes and looked up.  I'm very glad I had my phone with me.

Old man

This tree is so large that I can easily believe it was a witness to history 200 years ago.  I deliberately included the back of another hiker so you could get a sense of its mass.  I did stop and pet it. I'm that kind of girl.

Gnarly spring tree

Note the leaves leafing out from the burl.

Sycamore

I've seen this tree so often from the road but was never able to safely take a photo. It's stunning to crest the top of the hill and see three of these trees in the valley.  While walking along the trail the other day, I had the opportunity to see the tree up close and personal. Photography will never do it justice.

Tree in tree

This discarded wee Christmas tree got wedged in the larger tree by the wind...and it was stuck up there for a good long while.  I don't think it was still there when I moved back to the US.

Symbiosis...

Again. Rosetta McClain Gardens. July of 2012. One of the reasons I love to visit this park often is this structural shell. This is one angle.

I love the way the trees and plants live with the structure and the structure with them.

Symbiosis.

Sunday!

Entwined...

 

SOOC (straight out of camera), this was taken at Rosetta McClain Gardens atop the Scarborough Bluffs, Ontario. It's a lovely park with an uninterrupted view of Lake Ontario. 

Taken in July of 2012.

Entwined.

Saturday!

Invitation

Doesn't this make you want to climb up and sit on the branch?

New leaf green - 2

I loved the contrasts in this picture:  The dark, almost black bark against the vivid green, against the light stone of the tenement.

Tree hollow

We've been walking a lot, the dogs and I.  Trying to get into shape as well as explore our own historical area of the world.

This tree caught my attention.  Someone took a bite out of it.

New leaf green - 1

Ok, I've decided to share a few more tree photos from my walk home from when I lived in Edinburgh.  And then I'll bombard you with all the spring tree pictures I've been taking here in Maryland over the past week or so.

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Tree house

 

This lot is empty now, except for some amazing trees and this fun treehouse.  Eat your heart out, PeeWee

Into the wood...

Yes. Into the wood we go. Who knows. We might see a Baggins.

Taken at Edwards Gardens, Toronto, Ontario in the autumn of 2010.

Sunday!

Deadfall...

 

That bright light you see behind the deadfall is Lake Ontario. This is a huge park along the lake that I visit often. It feels like there should be a "Do Not Disturb" sign here.  

Saturday!

Best of both

And of course, if a tree is really showing off with both flowers and spring leaves....sigh.  Honestly, I could just stare at them for hours.  It's a wonder I made it successfully to and from work on the days I had this to look at.

String of pearls

I took this picture because the berries looked like a necklace around the throat of the red lady. 

Spring trees

More than trees in full bloom, what I really, really love about trees in the spring is the color of new leaves, especially the contrast of new leaves against dark bark.

Laid back

A close-up of those bent branches

Walking home in Edinburgh

This week I decided to share a few pictures from my walk home when I lived in Scotland.  It's still spring there, as you can see from flowering cherry trees.  At least I think they're cherry trees.

Wanted...

... new leaves.

These lovelies are just crying for new leaves.

Again, driving around Lake Ontario, taken at Burlington. The waters - blue and choppy.

Cheers!

Benched...

Driving around Lake Ontario, taken at Burlington. The waters - blue and choppy. The trees - basking in the sunshine. Glorious day.

Saturday!

Dancing willow

The wind was strong the day this photo was taken.  Branches danced to the sound of ghostly choirs from the old Beaverdams Church.

Early Spring in the Meadows

Another picture of The Meadows in Edinburgh, taken on a glorious, early spring day.

Gnarly Queenston

I took this photo when Theresa and I were collapsed on a bench after climbing to the top of Brock's Monument. I had my head tipped back and the branches fascinated me. 

Queenston

Here's another from Theresa. She's traveling today, possibly meeting new trees, so I said I'd post one of the pictures she took with my camera.

I love when tree stands form letters

Odd couple

I like the vine climbing the bark. I might have posted this before. Or I take a lot of parasite/host tree photos.  That could be true.  I think the stump is from a branch that hung low over the path and poked people in the eye.