Going Green

Every morning when I get up and open my upstairs bedroom window blinds, the first thing I see is the Fiddle Leaf Full Moon Maple tree.

 In winter its filigree of branches frequently holds perching chickadees. It is beautiful draped in snow or even raindrops.

In summer it is a leafy canopy.  In autumn it goes all orange and crimson.  Watching the daily color change is a great way to start the day.

But in spring the daily changes start ever so painfully slowly as the leaf buds take forever to swell and break, making me all the more impatient because this change heralds Spring, a new beginning!

And then, finally, the leaf buds seem to explode with greenness. And the tiny red flowers dangle from the leaf clusters.  

It is the greening time.

This maple made me more aware of other maples here and around the neighborhood.

The red leaf Japanese maple in the back yard is doing its own version of going green, and blooming.

There are so many beautiful blooming trees here this time of year, that the maples get overlooked.

What's greening up on this maple over at the park is not leaves at all, but lovely green flowers.

Big leaf maples also have a wonderful draping flower. Look at those leaf buds ready to erupt!

A red leaf maple had lovely red flower clusters.

But nothing quite heralds spring like the cottonwoods. About two weeks ago, as the leaf buds burst and shed their sticky husks, the scent of the sweet sap filled the air with springtime.  For about two weeks that fragrance wafted through the neighborhood.  I would breathe it deeply as I walked out to get the newspaper every morning.  On my daily walks I smiled as I passed under these trees. Some people say they make them sneeze.  They fill me with contentment.

Yes, it is the time that I call "The season of glowing greens", so many shades of green everywhere.

There is plenty of other color too. Here April showers bring April flowers.

Here's what's going on in front of the house along with the Full Moon Maple.

 The Viburnum burkwoodii has also burst into bloom, mixing its delicious scent with that of the native Oregon Grape.

There are vignettes  of color all over the yard now.

The first clump of trillium has now "faded" to purple.

                                Porch pansies

 Red trillium under the maple tree

And of course, out in the back, the tulips hold court.

Oh, and as I look out my upstairs office window right now, I see the first whitening of the bracts of the dogwood blooms, surrounded by new green leaves. 

And I just sneezed, too.  Ah Spring!