Thursday, May 18, 2017

Back in the Valley

It's hard to believe that we've been back from out west for 3 weeks.  (And I kept you busy with 3 weeks worth of western pictures on the blog!)  Real spring has been very late here, but with yesterday and today actually being warm, even hot, the season will catch up fast.

The beautiful light yellow-greens of the Sugar Maples (you're actually looking at their flowers more than their leaves here), give us two or three weeks of spring colour in the valley.

The hard maples coat all the upper and steeper slopes of the valley where the native deciduous forest has never been cleared.  The dark green of Eastern White Cedar colours the very steep slopes.

Down the slope from those mature Sugar Maple forests are extensive patches of young White Ash.  These are old fields that were cleared, pastured, abandoned, and are now growing up fast in trees.  But ash leaves are about the latest to unfold in the spring, so those patches all just look grey in these photos.

These are young White Ash in our own yard, not an unfolding leaf to be seen.  The buds are barely opening.

Elsewhere as I drive around the valley I spot the white blooms of Pin Cherry and Serviceberry trees.  They stand out brightly against everything else for two or three weeks.

Right here in the yard, the Silver Maple leaves are growing fast,

but the Sugar Maple buds are just starting to unfold.

The Basswood leaves are still tiny, half an inch across.

The White Birch leaves are not much bigger, and the catkins still hanging on the tree.  Based on my own observations, this is the latest that tree leaves have emerged here that I can remember.

A few flowers starting to brighten up the garden, the yellow Primrose which spread so easily, and the deep red buds of the Fernleaf Peony, about to open up.  Lots more to show you over the next few days.



15 comments:

  1. The valley is looking real good.

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  2. Beautiful spring colors. Enjoy your white ash, if the emerald ash borer gets there you may not have them any more. Virtually all the white ash here is dead, and those that aren't dead now will be in the near future.

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  3. The leaves are slowly emerging here, FG. Soon!

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  4. Our leaves are making progress, too! Beautiful photos.

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  5. Our Basswood always looks so totally dead in the Spring and is always the very last of everything to leaf out. Just today I noticed the tiniest specks of green.

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  6. The valley is colorful in the spring as well as the fall. Thanks for describing what gives the color.

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  7. I always enjoy the bright green colors of new spring leaves.

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  8. And as I looked at your photos, I could be right there, lovely words, and that red peony, gorgeous. Down here, snow to very low levels ( sea level in some places ) in the far south, younger daughter's place will get a good fall.

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  9. Spring is definitely late where you are, FG. I am glad to be back in the valley, seeing what you see around you. I've missed knowing about your environs. :-)

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  10. You know a lot about plants and trees. We don't know what half the trees on this property are yet! Beautiful detail of spring in the Valley.

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  11. Lovely series, gorgeous trees and leaves! Love the views!

    Have a happy day and weekend!

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  12. the leaves today are breathtaking!!!!

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  13. You are on a roll! Really lovely.

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  14. The biodiversity around the Escarpment is a treasure to behold.

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  15. I love the views in your first shots...you sure live in a beautiful area.

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