side by side

Two flowers stand side by side, decorating the garden with a splash of pink and purple.

a touch of yellow

This mystery flower posed for me, adding a touch of yellow to the garden.

in the distance

As I walked along a road in Topsfield, a glimmer of water in the distance caught my eye.

white

A variety of late season daffodils caught my eye as I wandered through the gardens of Long Hill last weekend.

first iris

When I was walking for exercise yesterday I saw my first bearded iris of the season. Yes, of course I returned later with my camera!

I continue to be fascinated by these very intricate flowers.

tulips fade

It's nearing the end of tulip season here.
I find that flowers at the end of life wear a different form of beauty.

peonies pop

I'm not sure what triggered my checking the open Trustees of Reservations sites yesterday but I'm glad that I did since Long Hill showed as open. I quickly gathered camera and lenses and headed there to visit the flowers.

Long Hill is a garden that really shines in the spring. In years past I've visited twice in May, once early in the month and once late. I missed some of the early blooming flowers this year but I'm very happy that the tree peonies are still in bloom.

If you're interested in seeing more flowers from yesterday's visit, the full gallery is available here.

poppies

Poppies are delicate and fleeting. I felt lucky to see some as I walked in Topsfield yesterday.

One day I would love to see the poppy bloom in California. For now I treasure the brief glimpses here in the northeast.

blue skies, growing green

Today the skies wore pure blue and the trees were clad in green.

azalea in pink

A walk in Maudslay State Park earlier this week showed me that this year's azalea bloom has started.

a magic walk

I met a friend at a church on River Road in Topsfield, MA this afternoon for a wonderful walk.

The starting point of our walk was about 10 miles from home. We walked a big (3.25 mile) square on quiet roads, always turning to the left. While we were quite close to the very busy Route 1, the roads we followed were very quiet. There were rolling fields, farm animals, interesting houses, simply a delight.

I plan to return with camera in hand!

tricolored

Today's tulip wears three colors, a blend of pink, yellow, and white.

purple

The combination of color and curved edges create a beautiful tulip.

watching

Yesterday I wandered into a still closed garden, a place where in a normal time I would be volunteering. In spite of the sign saying that the garden is closed, volunteers have been told it is OK to visit as long as we follow social distancing rules and wear masks. I've been timing my visits for early morning and evening.

I shared the space with birds and rabbits. There were no other humans in sight.

A rabbit watched me watching him. As long as I didn't move too close he happily continued eating grass. He stopped for a minute to look at me, noticing a tall stalk of grass in front of him. I guess the single stalk looked tasty because in no time it was gone!

edged

A tulip in deep pink wears an edge of white.

listen to the wind

I felt a need for a walk in the woods today so I headed to Maudslay State Park. I'm so glad our state parks have remained open through our stay-at-home time.

As I walked I saw new signs of spring in azalea blooming and leaves unfurling, I heard the constant sound of wind in the trees. It was a peaceful walk.

after the rain

Morning blue skies changed to dark gray late in the afternoon, heavy rain falling. As the rain let up I felt the pull of bright color, heading to the garden to visit the tulips.

painted petals

As snow flurries decorate the air this morning I am happy to have tulips to share.

The petals of this tulip almost look like they are painted, wearing an edge of red to highlight the beauty.

morning greeting

My morning started with a garden visit.

As I moved toward the flowers I was greeted by a rabbit munching on the grass. He was happy to stay in place, watching to make sure I didn't move any closer.

mixed color

A tulip in pink with light yellow accents stands in front of a sea of flowers wearing other bright colors.

violets in the grass

As I walked across the grass a patch of purple caught my eye. It was from a tiny flower, Viola sororia.

I've seen two varieties of this flower, all purple, and white with purple tracings in the center. Both are beautiful.

spring green

More leaves are appearing on trees. They are wearing the light green color of spring.

bright

A splash of bright pink decorates the garden as bleeding hearts bloom.

visiting tulips

This afternoon I grabbed my camera and walked onto the college campus next door. I noticed earlier in the week that there were tulips in bloom in many of the border gardens. It was a good time for a flower visit.

by the sea

I felt a need to walk by the ocean today.

I headed east to the visitor center at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. From the visitor center to the refuge (and the coast!) it's 2+ miles - but I knew that the parking lot remained open. While the refuge is still open, it's currently walk-in-only. And there is no parking available on Plum Island right now unless you have a resident parking permit. It's a good thing that my need for an ocean visit was on a morning that presented good weather for walking; I was happy to walk by the road in order to access the beach.

The beach inside the wildlife refuge is closed for the piping plover nesting season but the beach north of the refuge remains open.

It was a wonderful time for a walk by the sea.

Ordinarily I have a choice of beaches to walk but with closures for coronavirus many of the beaches are closed. The governor of Massachusetts has not closed public beaches but he has closed the beach parking lots because of the misbehavior of folks who didn't comply with social distancing orders. That's the same reason why I wasn't able to drive into Parker River National Wildlife Refuge for a walk on the inland side of the refuge.