more signs of spring

arrange, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Out in the woods today, I came across skunk cabbage arising from the thawing ground.











Spring Equinox in T-minus 6 days!

sproing

sproing, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

It finally cleared up yesterday, and now that it's light out later, I went for a walk after work over to Grandmothers' Garden, where I found these daffodils poking through the newly thawed ground.



There were other tiny green shoots coming up there, too.



Spring Equinox is a week from tomorrow!

flag plaques

B.P.O.E., originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Walking around Pine Hill Cemetery the other day, I took notice of the little plaques on the flags around the grounds. I had thought they were all military, but some of them were for other organizations, like this one from the Elks.

Here is one from the American Legion:



Then there are the war veterans:







I tried to find ones from Korea and Vietnam, but it was too muddy to do much exploring on the grassy areas. Next time!

laurel wreath

laurel wreath, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

This bronze laurel wreath is on a large memorial in Pine Hill Cemetery in Westfield. It's at least six feet off the ground, probably more, so I took this pic looking up at it.

impressive

impressive, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Yesterday was another stellar late winter/ early springlike day, so I did a lot of walking around Westfield. This is the statue of Major General William Shepard, across from the fire station near the square. He seems to be contemplating whether to walk down the street to the Big Y. *g*

liberate

liberate, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

The daffodils are pushing out of the ground down at Stanley Park. In a few weeks, we'll have flowers!

loverly

loverly, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

15 days until the Spring Equinox!

liberal use of color

liberal use of color, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Two and a half weeks till spring. I am soooooo ready! Yes, I know there's a good chance we'll still have snow after March 20th. But it'll be spring!

icy

icy, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Lots of ice & snow today. March certainly has come in like a lion!

dynamic

dynamic, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

A little bit of green hidden in the brown, yesterday at the wildlife sanctuary. A promise, despite the coming snow, that winter will end and spring will come.

improvise

improvise, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

It was very pretty in the woods today, if a bit slippery due to icy paths. This was near the stream crossing in the wildlife sanctuary at Stanley Park. It was nice to get out, but I think I'll wait until the ice recedes before heading back there.

sharp

sharp, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

It's quite warm for February today, putting me in mind of spring. So of course there is snow in the forecast for this weekend. ;)

This rose is from last August, in the rose garden at Stanley Park. As the sky grows greyer, a little color is always welcome.

swoop

swoop, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Golden grass contrasts with bare trees at Grandmothers' Garden in Westfield this afternoon. It was nice to see the sun, and it was quite pleasant out for a change!

standout

standout, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Yesterday's slushy snow didn't amount to much, but it looked pretty piled up on these red branches at Pine Hill Cemetery. Today it's frozen solid, but I did see daffodils poking out of the ground, so spring is definitely on its way!

winged hourglass

winged hourglass, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Experimenting with different angles and closeups: this is from the sundial at Grandmothers' Garden in Westfield yesterday. I love the curves, the texture of the raised design and the rust, and the bit of ground partially covered in snow visible at the top.

outline

outline, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

An oak leaf leaves an outline of itself as the ice around it melts.

yellow explosion

yellow explosion, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

After snow, rain, hail, and ice yesterday, I thought a little forsythia would be welcome. This was taken at Stanley Park in May, 2007.

the road ahead

the road ahead, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Yesterday's sunset was another lovely one. I took this out the window of my car, going west on Route 57 in Agawam. Talk about riding off into the sunset! :)

promise

promise, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

The promise of spring resides in this magnolia bud, in the rose garden at Stanley Park.

In a couple of months, it'll look like this:

bubbles

big bubble, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Some of the puddles down at Stanley Park today had bubbles rising up through the mud.

They would come up as little bubbles:



Then they would start to merge into larger bubbles:







Then they would pop, and the whole thing would start all over again.

Yes, I am easily amused. *g*

splash

splash, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

From the archives, and updated: a new crop of an older photo I took in Grandmothers' Garden in Westfield, when leaves were green and water was unfrozen.

I love the way water droplets lay like jewels in the folds of this Lady's Mantle, and how the large one in the center magnifies the creases like facets.

convocation

On a day like today, I really can believe that spring is on its way. It's a lovely 56 degrees here in East Longmeadow, and it was delightful to get outside for lunch. So much better than the single digits and 'teens we've been having so much of this winter!

I'm sure we'll get more cold and snowy weather, but soon we'll be looking for things like these grape hyacinths popping out of the ground.

nice article

Digital Photography School has a nice blog post today about taking good pictures with any camera, which is something we've been talking about lately. Here is the money quote:

"The real difference between an average photo and an amazing photo, is the photographer, not the camera."

It goes on to give tips on how to get the most out of the camera you have, including reading the manual, take your camera with you everywhere you go, and more.

I have no illusions about being a great photographer, but I've learned the limits of my camera and how much I can push them. Yes, I take a lot of pictures that are nothing special, but once in a while I get one that I really love.



Sure, I wish I had that Nikon with the 18x zoom and image stabilization, but I do pretty well with my little old Kodak Easy Share. It's an old friend that I can depend on for most of what I need.

feasible

feasible, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

I caught tonight's sunset from the South End Bridge on the way home from work. Traffic was actually moving, which is unusual for rush hour, but I stopped just long enough to stick the camera out the window and snap a quick one. We haven't had a lot of really nice sunsets this winter.

reveal

reveal, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Another nice day today! Wow, two in a row, and on a weekend to boot. Maybe Mother Nature feels badly about all the lousy weather we've had this winter.

This lovely scene is in the wildlife sanctuary by Stanley Park in Westfield, where the paths are still snowy, but the river and streams are thawing nicely.

bold

bold, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Finally, a nice day! I walked to downtown Westfield, wandering around and looking at the architecture. This is the spire of St. Mary's Church.

butterfly

butterfly, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

This morning's 10-degree weather is making me long for summer all the more. Days of flowers and butterflies, and green grass, and short sleeves.

The light at the end of the tunnel is within view, though. In a month, we'll be looking for signs of crocuses, and watching the buds swell on the trees.

Honored

Mary Carey, of the lovely local blog AboutAmherst, has bestowed upon me an honor by giving me an award!



I'm touched! The rules say I must pass it along to five worthy bloggers, providing links to each and back to the original post. Three of the local blogs I read have already won (AboutAmherst, Exploring Western Massachusetts, and in the valley), but I'm going to give it to them all again because they deserve it. If you haven't already, check them out!

Next, to Mike Dobbs' Out of the Inkwell. In the interest of full disclosure, Mike's a coworker, and fun to geek out with on SciFi movies & TV. His blog is full of interesting stuff, from movie reviews to local news.

Last but not least, to Heather Brandon's Urban Compass. Heather does a great job of covering local politics, in both Springfield and her new home in Hartford.

There are a lot of great local blogs, and you can find more of them on BlogNet.

Thanks, Mary!

deliver

deliver, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

Wonderful ice on the downspout out behind the building where I work. It's very cold today, but the sun is strong enough to melt the snow on the roof, redelivering it as ice here.

someone's been busy

someone's been busy, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

While walking through the woods yesterday, I heard the distinctive call of the Pileated woodpecker. I never caught sight of him, but I found evidence of his passing on a tree along the path.



Just under the tree, wood chips littered the snow.





That's one industrious bird!

exes

exes, originally uploaded by Lizzie~Belle.

It was a beautiful day for a walk today, so I headed down to Stanley Park and the wildlife sanctuary this afternoon. This is inside the covered bridge at the park. Today is the ancient festival of Imbolc, or Candlemas, which marks the halfway point of winter. Spring is only six weeks away!