More Exploring!

There's lots more to report from my rides around a few blocks here.  Since this is my main opportunity to get away from the living room window and take a few photographs, I'm looking pretty closely for things to aim my camera at.  And this year, after exploring these streets all year, I can recognize plants that are just emerging, even though they won't flower til later.

Just around the corner is a beautiful Sugar Maple, standing isolated in a yard.  I know from seeing the leaves last summer.

It's buds are swelling and about to burst.  After this weekend with much warmer weather forecast, I expect to see these opening into leaves.  Never in my life have I seen all the trees without the leaves at least half open by Mother's Day.  Spring is WEEKS behind this year!

Around the next corner I come across a patch of Hyacinths whose leaves are starting to hide the blooms.  Already the first round of early spring flowers is fading as we move on to the species that would normally have already bloomed, like Tulips.

On the other hand these bright green leaves are a sign of thongs to come.  I know from last year that these will bloom as bright orange Daylilies.  I expect I'll be posting a number of new pictures that illustrate the changing season this year.

A little further on there's a back lane into the works yard for the golf course.

And in the distant back yard of the neighbouring house I saw a nice patch of Daffodils.

Here's the second of the immovable old tractors down the street.

And at that point I get a very bumpy ride for a bit.  This eroding patchy pavement is evidence that this street was never actually paved; rather it's had probably more than one coat of tar and gravel in the distant past to make what was once a smooth surface.  For 100 yards I actually go off the edge and ride on the shoulder, or else go right out in the middle of the road to avoid the bumps.

Finally, a pretty little stream at the end of the street, already dried to just a trickle.  We haven't had the usual spring rains this year and things are very dry.  This same stream flows under our street, where it has carved a steeper and deeper ravine. 

Probably more photos soon as the warmer weather will let me get outside.