A Spring Show

From the tops of trees to the forest floor, from woodland edges to rural roadsides, Spring is putting on a show. A spectacular show, with more richness of shapes, sizes, and diversity than the more famous Fall colors. And every year is a beautiful year, except for maybe the black flies that emerged in the last few days.

You can see the Spring colors from afar, by looking across a field at a woodland edge. Red maples are dangling their red fruits, while sugar maples are draped in greenish-yellow dangling flowers. Long catkins hang from birches and leaf buds of nearly every tree and shrub are opening.

Walk along a woodland edge or into a forest and
look from the ground to above your head,

the white flowers of wood anemones decorate the ground. 

On a moss covered tree stump,
the tiny blossom of the starflower is nearly open,

and a little bug takes note.

At eye level shrubs are opening up all over,
including this alternate-leaved dogwood.

Witchhazel fruits (this woodland shrub flowers in the fall)

sit on the stem between newly emerging leaves.

Buds of the beech tree grow longer and longer before opening.

A young sugar maple leafed out without flowering.

Now if only my nasty head cold would buzz off then I could also smell the Spring show.