dwarf iris

I've always loved the intricacy of iris. The dwarf variety of this flower emerges early in the spring.

ripples

Water standing on the beach as the tide moves out wears ripples.

The wind was amazingly strong!

windy & cold

Brr! It was windy & cold today, not an ideal day for a walk on the beach. But yes, I did walk at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.

It's nearing the end of March so the days for walking on the beach in the refuge are nearing an end for the season. The beach in the refuge closes on April 1st each year for the piping plover nesting season. While I am happy to cede the beach to these endangered birds it felt good to get in a last walk before the closure.

purple

A crocus in purple stands amid last year's fallen leaves.

mirrored

Clouds, blue sky, trees, and houses were mirrored in a calm Merrimack River this afternoon.

glory of the snow

This tiny flower wears the name glory of the snow.

While I have seen these flowers in previous years popping out of snow, this year they are surrounded by dried leaves. It brings a welcome pop of color.

sunshine

Crocus in bright yellow bring a splash of sunshine to the day.

snowdrops

Tiny snowdrops decorate the spring landscape.

a walk on the beach

Yesterday's warmth drew me to the coast for an afternoon walk on the beach.

photos! Smith College bulb show

Monday's trek across the state to visit the spring bulb show at Smith College was delightful. Part of the drive was on a new-to-me 2-lane road that was beautiful, and the colors that surrounded me at the bulb show were wonderful.

If you're interested in seeing more photos, click to the the gallery seeking flowers at Smith College :: 2022.

crocus

Today I was looking for crocus.

There's a hill at Maudslay State Park that provides an early spring home to both crocus and snowdrops. Even though it felt a little early in the season, I headed there this afternoon to look for the tiny flowers. When I first arrived I saw only last year's grass. I walked up the hill and started to see patches of snowdrops. After they finished posing for my camera I turned back, taking careful steps across the hill.

Oh! There's a tiny splash of purple! The crocus are just starting to bloom.

double daff

Yesterday's bulb show visit satisfied my early season need for flowers (for now).

I find it amazing how different double daffodils are from their single counterparts.

spring bulb show

It was a day of smiles, a day to visit flowers at the Smith College 2022 Bulb Show.

Advance registration was required to attend this year's show. A friend and I kept watching the web site and were lucky to be able to register for a visit today.

It was well worth the 2-hour drive. Two rooms of the greenhouse were full of colorful spring flowers!

fog

It was a foggy morning, a short respite from the rain.

first flowers

I headed to Maudslay State Park this afternoon looking for early spring flowers.

The trails were very muddy; I watched where I placed my feet. Sometimes I walked on the edge of the trail, sometimes I walked in the grass, always trying to avoid the messy mud.

My reward was a hillside of tiny flowers popping out of last year's dried leaves, a sea of what I believe are snowflake flowers.

blue & white

This morning I woke to find pure blue skies and more snow than I expected.

Warmer temperatures predicted for the next few days should melt the snow and allow me to resume my search for early spring flowers.

late season

Yesterday I saw green shoots that will soon emerge as daffodils.

Today there was a bit of snow.

sand, snow

When I visited Parker River on Sunday there was still a bit of snow in the dunes. An inch or so of the white stuff is forecast for tomorrow evening, hopefully that signals the end of winter precipitation for now.

warm & windy

It was a day of changing weather, from wet to dry, cool to warm, gray skies to blue.

It was a good afternoon for a walk on the beach even though it wasn't my preferred tide time. I arrived at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge just after high tide, before the ocean created a hard surface for walking. While the soft sand slowed my pace a bit I enjoyed my time walking and listening to the waves.

waiting for color

I'm guessing that we are still a week or two away from seeing spring color. Last year's photos showed my first crocus of the season on March 12th, with some purple crocus captured on March 24th of 2021.

Looking back while waiting for this year's color to pop...

melt

This morning I looked out to see a fresh coat of white on the ground even though we are now in meterological spring. Less than an inch of snow fell overnight overnight. While the temperature is forecast to remain cold for the next couple of days, ice on ponds is starting to melt.

I am ready to welcome spring!