first flowers

As I walked in the rain this morning I kept my eyes out for early flowers.

I was rewarded with a patch of just opening snowdrops, a sure sign of spring.

photos! spring bulb show at Smith College

Tuesday's visit to the 2025 Spring Bulb Show at the Botanic Garden of Smith College was a delight!

It allowed me to jump forward to spring, to walk through a greenhouse bursting with the bright colors of tulips and daffodils.

Click here to wander through photos in the gallery spring flowers at Smith College :: 2026.

a drive to flowers

Today I headed west to visit the Spring Bulb Show at Smith College in Northampton, MA.

Two greenhouses filled with bright spring flowers - tulips, daffodils, freesia, and more - provided an early view of the season. Delightful!

listen...

Listen... can you hear the music of the ocean?

It was a perfect morning to walk at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. The boardwalks to the beach were mostly clear; only a few sections of boardwalk were covered with compacted snow and ice.

It felt wonderful to be on the beach, sharing it with a few people and a lot of birds.

melting

The air is warmer, snow is compacting, ice is melting.

I welcome this week's warmer days as a taste of early spring.

ice

Meteorological spring brings mixed conditions. Yesterday the weather wizard brought us 3 inches of snow followed by freezing rain. Today she promises spring-like temperatures.

This morning everything wore a coating of ice.

by the river

Warm(ish) air pulled me close to the coast this afternoon.

It was a good day to walk along the Merrimack River in Newburyport, looking across the water to Plum Island, watching and listening to sea birds.

overnight white

A bit of snow fell last night, decorating tree branches with a layer of white.

on a wall

I approached my volunteer stint at Uncommon Threads by a different direction today. That was lucky; it allowed me to see a new mural on Island Parkside, an apartment building in Lawrence, MA.

Seeing new development in this area is wonderful.

on the coast

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge was my afternoon destination today. While the ocean has cleaned the beach below the high tide line, there is a lot of snow in the refuge.

It's beautiful.