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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The Continuing Saga of Spring

It is school vacation week, and I had promised to take my son to Ithaca for an overnight. We planned our trip around the weather and decided to go on Monday because it looked like it would be the warmest day of the week. As we drove along, I noticed the trees budding more and more. It looked like a fairyland! By the time we arrived in Ithaca, it felt like summer! After stopping for lunch, we retreated to Ithaca Falls with our cameras. Although Ithaca Falls seems most vibrant during warmer months when there are leaves on the trees, I enjoy photographing it during Spring because more of the waterfall is visible from a distance and not concealed by foliage. 



We wore shorts and t-shirts and were grateful for the breeze that offered some relief from the nearly 80° heat. Daffodils and crocuses were in full bloom. It was summer for a day, and I found it very hard to belief the weather forecast, which called for snow the next day!

We didn't have an easy view of the sky from our hotel window that night, and I ended up sleeping through the "blood moon" lunar eclipse - although I dreamed that all the planets in the solar system were in perfect alignment on either side of the sun. It felt like a good thing.

By morning, it was raining hard, and the temperature had dropped, so we were on our way home by noon. By the time we got back home, the temperature had plunged further. I dropped my son off at a friend's house for the evening, and when I went out to pick him up a little after 9:00 pm, it was snowing horizontally so hard that it was like driving through a wide tunnel of white fireworks bombarding the windshield continuously. I could barely see the road at all. When I rolled down my window for a better view, I heard a chorus of spring peepers. The contrast was surreal!

In the morning, I woke up to a clear blue sky and a yard covered lightly with snow. Although we do not welcome snow at this time of year, it was astonishingly beautiful! Before our winter snow had melted, I longed to photograph a purple crocus pushing through the snow. Desperate for signs of spring, I dug holes in the snow on a couple occasions to try to find such colorful evidence - but to no avail. This morning was a little different; instead of Spring pushing through Winter, Winter had covered Spring. But still, I headed out expecting to be dazzled. 

Here is the sight that greeted me in our yard...


Notice the budding treetops!


My eyes are drawn to the daylily shoots in this photo:



 In the park, the labyrinth path was embossed with snow.


Winter may have covered Spring, but Spring made quick work of melting Winter!



It was hard to believe we were in t-shirts and shorts two days ago!


Back in our yard, daylily shoots were sprouting up everywhere, completely unfazed! 


As I wandered through the yard, the sky was a deep shade of blue, and the sun felt so warm. I thought of Colorado, where my husband and I are thinking of moving. Is this what a Colorado winter feels like - snowy, sunny, and warm?


What I find appealing about these images is that Spring so clearly is in charge now! By noon, the daylilies and budding trees already had laughed off the snow, which is now helping to green the grass and awaken all sorts of plants and flowers.

This is not 1816 ("the year without a summer"). No siree! This morning, Spring established its dominance!

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The photographs in this blog and in my Flickr photostream are available for purchase as prints or cards through my Etsy shop by selecting a "custom print" in whatever size you prefer and indicating either the name of the print or the blog post and order in which it appears. 

© Susan Meyer and River Bliss Photography, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, including all text and photos, without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Susan Meyer and River Bliss Photography (www.riverblissed.blogspot.com) with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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