Sunday, April 04, 2010

Under a Cherry Tree

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In the background, hyper Cardinal voices and Mockers waging war, soulful Mourning Doves and White-throated Sparrows, and, the drone of lawn mowers…

It’s snowing Cherry and Bradford Pear blossoms at my house. Intoxicating.

Oh, the Bumbles and the Honeys are here, too, along with a Giant Tiger Swallowtail. Soon to come.


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Well, Hello!


Just how long can I stand under a Cherry Tree?

A long time, even when there are a million and one other things to do…

Give me Cherry Blossoms.

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A bug nine inches from my nose. Go Super Macro - a camera feature I rarely use. I used a little Picasa editing for these. I call them Bug Art.

I want to scream. Spring sprung so quickly and I also fear a freeze that happens sometimes in April.

Flip flops. Tank tops. Not that I wear tank tops. I hate my upper arms.

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There are five nesting boxes on campus. I tend to them and cleaned them about a month ago. This is a Carolina Chickadee box. Their bed is perfectly fluffed up and suitable for some babes. I peeked inside and smiled…

The pair watched me. One silently held a feather for the bed, while the other hollered. And, I did back away, but not before two minutes of photos. Thanks, Chickies.

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Bradford Pear blossoms downright stink. Does anyone agree?

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Bella, the hula hoop queen, sweetened the pic.

Spring.

It’s so sensual,

so warm,

and so sweet, my God.

(I might have said this many times before, but, I’m sayin’ again.)

Let’s enjoy the warmth on our backs.

Like Lizzie does.

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By the way, I think they're cherry blossoms. If I'm wrong, OH WELL.

25 comments:

A New England Life said...

Half the time I'm not sure which blossom is which either! All I know is that they're beautiful!

Not so sure that bug is on the up and up. Seriously!

We put up Bluebird boxes this year. They came, they left. Hopefully they'll come back. Lucky you to have such sweet little Chickies.

Happy Spring, Mary : )

Sharon

Vickie said...

Lovely post, Mary. Beautiful blossoms and appreciation.

I'm looking forward to meeting you in New River! My maps are in hand. Just need to do a little rain gear shopping! And just a note on the last post...the c-oscopy is a bigger deal in our heads. After inconvenient prep the day before, its a breeze. I went out to eat right after mine!

Jayne said...

It's almost as if everything exploded into bloom overnight, isn't it? :c) I LOVE this time of year! Just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Catbird said...

What a wonderful post, Mary! Lovely prose and pix. (I'd wax more rhapsodic at greater length, but I'm at work.)

Caroline said...

Happy Easter, Mary!
Flowering trees that lovely can call themselves anything they want! You are way ahead of us in the Dakotas, we had real snow snowing on us on Friday!

Robin's Nesting Place said...

Beautiful spring pictures! The Bradford pear tree blooms do stink!

I've got some chickadees nesting in my bird house! I saw them today collecting Lilly's hair!

nikkipolani said...

You're right - pear blossoms don't smell great, but they are beautiful and you've captured their friends quite nicely :-) Happy Easter, Mary.

Anne Higgins said...

Thank you, Mary! I love your blog!
The photos of the chickadee are marvelous.

Happy Easter from Anne

Anonymous said...

Love that hula hoop in the background photo.

Our cherry blossoms blew away over the past 3 days. Just the slightest of breeze would have them floating to the ground after all the bees got done with the nectar. I had a movie on my blog standing underneath our cherry tree a few days ago with all the bees buzzing around the blossoms.

Had not noticed the smell of the Pear trees, but the blossoms are lovely right now.

Di
The Blue Ridge Gal

RuthieJ said...

Cute Chickadees! Isn't it amazing they can find all that fuzzy stuff for their nests and then build such a nice one with just their beak? Birds are so cool!

Angie said...

Your photos are fabulous, Mary!!! :) And yes, actually, I was standing INSIDE shooting thru my filthy window for the bluebird shots. :) Don't ya just love this time of year!!

Minerva said...

I SO agree about the Bradford pear. I forget every year, and when I walk the dogs past that part of the yard, I think every Spring.."What is that smell?" Then I laugh to myself because I'm a dolt. ;)

Love the lizard pic. Wish we had them around here.

Cathy said...

Oh my gosh! The fluff in that little chickadee's bill! Oh my gosh!

Mary, you are the St. Francis of the sweet little critter kingdom.

And those little antennae picking out form the blossoms! Awwwwww .. .

You make bugs look sweet ;-D

And really - it's too funny - I promise: I used the word intoxication in my lazy attempt at a post today before I read your post.

Honest!

Happy souls - moving together - drunk with spring bliss.

PS I love it! My verification word is 'goose'.

Wendy said...

I wear flipflops and tanks too. Even though I hate my flabby, flappy upper arms, too bad! Bring on the warm weather!

Love that bug pic. Bug art is good. You did a nice job. There are so many camera features I need to learn.

Blossoms are pretty. Do they stink? I don't know.

dguzman said...

YAY for SPRING!

dugfresh said...

damn, mary. your photos are incredible! those chickadee shots are priceless. and how cool that you got to peek in on a little chickadee family...i'm envious!

i, too, have been seduced by the alluring smells of spring. "sensual" is the perfect word for my favorite time of the year. the sun bathing your body, a gentle, cool breeze caressing your skin, intoxicating aromas from everything blooming at once...it's a rush.

though those God-forsaken pear trees stink up the neighborhood like nobody's business. i have to hold my breath while walking by them just to keep from throwing up. i decided one particularly odor-iffic day that i would rather smell a dead, rotting animal carcass than those bloody trees.

but enough about that. back to your post...

i'm glad i checked your blog today. i needed some cheering up. your posts always make me smile and lift my spirits. once again, thanks for sharing this bit of your life with us.

jeanmac said...

Mary, your pictures make my heart sing!

Suzanne said...

Love the photos. Wonderful!

Rose said...

Spending time under the blossoms of a cherry/plum/peach/whatever tree sounds like a wonderful way to enjoy the spring, Mary. Thanks for the close-up views of the chickadees building their nests. Another welcome sight of spring!

Just read your last post--glad to hear you'll be around for awhile, Mary:)

Anonymous said...

As usual Mary your pictures are wonderful. I especially love the cherry blossums. I can almost smell them. No tree blossums here yet. (Southwest lower Michigan.) The forsythia and daffodils are in bloom. Thanks for sharing.
Lynda from facebook.

Peg Wiggins said...

Fabulous photographs, Mary.
As usual they brighten the spirits.
Spring is such an optimistic time of the year. And Spring certainly came upon us suddenly this year.

Your super macro bug looks somewhat like a 'milkweed bug' to me.
Love the close-ups!

Cathy said...

Still loving that mouth full of fluff :-D

JoAnn Freda said...

Your photos are always a treat. When I visit your blog I always experience a mixture of envy and awe. I can't tell you how many hours I've wasted trying to get a decent picture of birds in my backyard. My new challenge is a sweet pair of scrub jays that have built a very low nest in a tree right outside my kitchen window. I am charmed by their behavior now if I could get a good picture to remember them by.

Appalachian Lady said...

I thought I might have chicadees--they checked out a clay birdhouse but haven't come back. I love your birdhouse--have to get one like that. The photos are fantastic.

Kathie Brown said...

Mary, thanks for the peeks of the cherry blossoms. I don't see them here. Sring is out in force. Most of my blossoms are bright yellow but we do have a few red, pink, and even rarer, white. Oh, and there are bluebells in the desert.