…?
Friday the Fair Wendy & I went out on a search for good redbuds. It’s been a tough year for my favorite spring blooms, with warm days encouraging opening, then sunsets sinking into subfreezing shriveling nights; some sleet, strong winds, etc.
But we found some. None were fully out, yet some already looked past the peak and weatherbeaten.
The new leaves on this slim twig look premature . . .
This next cluster has a seed pod in it; these have usually opened by now, and the seeds are on the way now.
Also in Chapel Hill, one office cul-de-sac has a set of WHITE redbud: the shape is identical, though the buds are not fully out yet.
Here’s a closer look:
I also took time to get some shots of one of my favorite
“Nano-blossoms,” called Bertie Speedwells. These are about a quarter of an inch across, and grow only an inch or two above the soil, but they manage to seem like they’re peering up at me defiantly.
One last, which was flying its little leaves like a flag: “Redbud forever!” But of course, they’re only here for a week or two. I hope to visit with them again.
But they’re not red – a sort of magenta colour, similar to the Judas Tree just coming into flower here in Portugal.
True enough, Trevor: on our route on March 17, we saw some that were light pink, others darker, some even a kind of maroon, and two trees whose blooms were very white, but the very same shape, which I dubbed “white redbuds.” The others I did not name, but are commonly called “redbuds.” Their color is also affected by different kinds of daylight.
Love the photos, Chuck. The redbud is one of my favorites. Love the colors and form. And there are some gorgeous ones blooming near me now on the edge of some woods.
Trevor, very interesting to me about the Judas Tree. I had never heard of it and looked it up. It’s Cercis siliquasstrum, and ‘our’ red bud tree is Cercis canadensis. And yes they’re not red!
I did wonder if they might be related – the blooms on bare twigs and the colour are very similar.
Redbud alert—- simply stunning!
Oh, your pictures! I love it. I take pictures, too, but not as great as these.
Another kind of picture…
Gratitude
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the catbird,
Who sings with such joy and invention
Outside my door,
And, of course, for the wood thrush,
Whose liquid notes perfume the evening,
And the winter wren –
Such giant music from so small a singer! –
And, oh, yes, the robin
And the veery,
The white-throated sparrow,
And –
But lest you think
It is only for their songs I love them,
Thank you for the blue jay,
The goldfinch,
The cardinal.
And, Lord, it isn’t just the colours either.
Thank you for the friendly chickadee,
The bold, amazing hummingbird,
The clever crow,
The vulture who passes just above my head
With majestic grace and intimidating shadow…
Well, thank you for the birds.
Certainly I’ve done nothing to deserve them,
Yet here they are.
Oh, and the fireflies!
Thank you for the fireflies;
But not just those who sparkle in the night:
Thank you for butterflies,
Tiger beetles,
Ladybugs,
Dragonflies,
And other little creatures –
Millipedes and spiders
And earthworms.
Earth – yes, the things of the earth:
The hawthorn tree!
The black cherry!
Bursting into white bloom like a spring wedding,
The green and fragrant cedar,
Sprays of silver birch,
Whispering aspen –
Thank you for the trees;
And for the smaller plants, too,
Spreading gaiety through wood and field:
Polygala and baneberry,
Pussytoes and mayflower…
Thank you, Lord.
And that’s just the spring.
Lovely poem. Nice ‘daffodil ministry’!
Great poem, Bev, especially because you included my totem bird, the wood thrush. They’re in trouble down here, so I hope Canada can provide sanctuary for them as they did for so many of our two-legged generation forced North by history, eh? Did you ever see my story about the wood thrush, written in the ‘80s? If not, here it is: https://wp.me/p5FGIu-zC