white morpho

Wednesday's visit to Magic Wings introduced me to a new butterfly.

This is a white morpho; it wears a subtle beauty.

More butterflies jumped into my camera during our visit. You can see them in the gallery flitter, flutter, butterfly! 2023.

cactus flower

While this reminds me of Christmas cactus I believe it is a different variety of succulent.

It has large flowers and succulent stems; a real beauty!

two

Today's visit to Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory made me happy. It's always wonderful to stand among butterflies, to feel their touch, to see them in flight and at rest.

I think this is the first time I saw two butterflies of different types where one is standing on the other.

Cairns birdwing butterfly and Euploea core

coastal

Yesterday afternoon's walk in Odiorne Point State Park was timed perfectly from a sky standpoint. The earlier pure blue sky was decorated by inbound clouds.

The small rounded rocks along the coast remained walkable and somehow I managed to stay out of the water.

sunshine

It's still early for outside daffodils here.

This beautiful flower posed for me at the spring flower show at Smith College earlier this month. It brings a ray of sunshine into my day.

on the wall

I headed to Salem yesterday afternoon to see if there was any new art on the walls.

The wall housing small square murals that is usually repainted each year still shows work from 2021. It wasn't until late in my wander that I found a new mural (replacement), a full wall of wonder.

I enjoyed the art on the walls, both old and new.

"DONA MECHO", by Bud Amazonas

sign by the sea

A sign at the end of a dock on the Piscataqua River in Portsmouth, NH wears the words of Robert Dunn, the Poet Laureate of Portsmouth from 1999 to 2001. The words really appeal to me.

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From here you can see the tide turn like a door on its hinges.

We're just going out.

Do you want anything from the ocean?

glory-of-the-snow

I'd love to see this flower popping out of the snow.

Today the blooms emerged from bare ground.

tiny

I hoped to find flowers when I visited the gardens of Long Hill this afternoon. While it's still early in the season I found tiny flowers scattered across the property. There were snowdrops, crocus, scilla, glory of the snow, winter aconite, and Lenten rose, all lending color and bringing smiles.

It's a good thing that the snow from early in the week has melted and the ground has had a chance to dry out because I couldn't resist getting down on the ground to get photos of the flowers!

The flowers of early spring are wonderful.

pink sand

Pink sand shows between the beach and the sand dunes at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. I've seen this more often at the southern end of the refuge; today it decorated the northern end.

The shades of pink and purple come from mineral deposits of rose quartz and garnet.

snowflakes before snow

I headed to Maudslay State Park this afternoon for a quick look before tomorrow's predicted snow hides the flowers that are in bloom. Snowflake flowers live on a hill behind a brick wall, and miniature daffodils and crocus are starting to peek out on another hill that is still half covered in snow.

It's always good to see and visit the early flowers of spring.

first crocus

Meterological spring started on March 1st.

The first sign of spring (to me) is the emergence of color in tiny flowers. Today I saw my first crocus; it's spring!

photos! spring bulb show at Smith College

Early March is about the time each year when I feel that I need flowers and color around me. Luckily the spring bulb show at Smith College opens at that time, problem solved.

A friend and I visited the show on Monday. Communing with the flowers was well worth the drive!

To see more photos, click here to jump to the gallery spring flowers at Smith College :: 2023.

patterns in sand

Patterns are formed in the sand by the outgoing tide.

a glimpse of spring

Today I drove west in the state to visit the spring flower show at The Botanic Garden of Smith College. Tulips and daffodils wore bright colors, a delightful glimpse of the coming season.

a snowman

Yesterday's snow was wet and heavy, compacting quickly in the above freezing temperature.

I was delighted to meet this snowman during my walk today.

outbound

It was about an hour and a half before low tide when I arrived at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon. It was a perfect time for a walk by the ocean, a time to enjoy warming air, to listen to the sound of the waves.

The sky still wore blue although wisps of clouds were starting to solidify.

on a wall

Flowers painted on the wall of the library in West Concord, MA bring a splash of color to the day.