3 Quarters Today

My Life, my photography, my passions

seasons

Spring Has Sprung

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Spring has sprung in Nebraska, and I am a happy camper!

After a long winter in Nebraska I am more than ready for Spring and it can’t come fast enough. My daffodils are blooming, the buds on the trees are opening and the sun is shining.

With the first blooming flowers of spring I start taking my camera with me everywhere. There is something about the sun and new life rising from the ground that inspires me.

Enjoy my flowers this year and Spring Quotes

Spring has sprung with the first daffodils of the year
Spring has sprung with the first daffodils of the year

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”  ~Robin Williams

Blooming redbud tree
Blooming redbud tree

It’s spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!  ~Mark Twain

Mark Twain had it right, I have SPRING FEVER!

Daffodil garden at Arbor Day Lodge in Nebraska City
Daffodil garden at Arbor Day Lodge in Nebraska City

Awake, thou wintry earth –
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn, “An Easter Hymn”

Apple blossoms at Arbor Day Lodge in Nebraska City
Apple blossoms at Arbor Day Lodge in Nebraska City

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.  ~Ruth Stout

So true, I love the flower gardens in the spring and it’s to them that I flock when the warm spring breezes blow. Always with my camera of course.

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout
I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.  ~Anne Bradstreet

I guess the spring quote by Anne Bradstreet is true, if we didn’t have winter, and very cold winters, we would never appreciate spring. The same is the same with joy. If we never experience sadness we would relish and appreciate joy and happiness.

Raindrops on a Tulip
Raindrops on a Tulip

The naked earth is warm with Spring,
And with green grass and bursting trees
Leans to the sun’s kiss glorying,
And quivers in the sunny breeze.
~Julian Grenfell

So now that Spring has sprung, can summer be far behind? I am a sun worshipper, nothing makes me happier than sitting with my face to the sun on the first warm day of spring. I love the warmth, and can’t wait for an 80 degree day so I can sit on the deck and soak in the rays.

What do you like about spring? Do you have a favorite spring tradition?

 

#12/52: Spring in March? So Soon?

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I don’t ever remember wearing shorts in March, not in Nebraska anyway. But when the temperature reaches into the 80’s the winter not only do the white legs come out, but the trees start blooming.

A photographer client told me last week he had just returned from the Smokie Mountains where the cherry blossoms were already at their peak. Six weeks early. By the time the Cherry Blossom Festival arrives there won’t be any flowers.

Not sure what species of tree this is, but it was pretty, and in honor of spring it’s  my photo of the week.

White flowering tree in spring

Related articles

Day 142/365: Flowering Trees

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Don’t know what kind of flowering tree this is, crab apple, dogwood, or a flowering cherry, but they were pretty blooming all over town. I was tempted to post a wide angle shot,  but I really like close ups and macros. I’m trying to get better at selecting the best picture of the day. I can hem and haw forever in trying to decide what to post.

Flowering Tree
Flowering Tree

 

More About Flowering Trees

Some day I’ll have some flowering trees in my yard, but I’m a little ADD and don’t like to wait a whole year, or years before seeing results. So in the mean time I’ll drive around town, go to the parks and enjoy the flowering plum trees on the walking trails. They smell the best by the way.

Top 6 flowering trees to plant in the spring

Smaller properties call for trees of modest size and many spring-flowering species fit the bill. The favorites mentioned here rarely grow larger than 25 to 30 feet and some remain half that size, making them ideal for planting near patios, as specimen …
 
Flowering trees add color and beauty to February, March landscapes

The Oriental magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana) is one of the most spectacular of the spring-flowering trees because its flowers are so large. Unlike the evergreen Southern magnolia, the Oriental magnolia is deciduous and loses its leaves in winter.
 
Flowering trees add to February, March landscapes – LSU AgCenter

(Distributed 02/21/14) HAMMOND, La. – Flowering trees add considerable color and beauty to our landscapes during late winter and early spring. Many of the trees that flower at this time of year can be considered …