Sure Signs that Spring is Here, Part Deux

I have been busy collecting more photographic evidence

that spring truly is here.

The college girls don shorts and flip-flops.

I'm sure the young men appreciate that.

Daffodils bloom downtown.



My hyacinths are blooming.

The Cleveland Select pear trees

burst into bloom.

Close-up of the flowers.

Caterpillars begin moving in the garden.

This is the larva of the Giant Leopard Moth.

Accounts conflict on whether the
bristles can cause a rash if touched.

Redbud trees bloom on the Clear Creek Trail.

Spring rains swell the creeks.

Eastern Redbud.

The lake level is high.

A blue heron takes flight.

The lake is not yet at flood stage.

Boaters are out on the lake.

A gentleman fishes.

The deer missed this tulip in my garden.

I had forgotten that I still had tulips

as the deer eat them before they can bloom.

The dogwoods and fothergilla in bloom.

A bee visits the fothergilla flowers.

Dogwood "in bloom."

Remember,

the "petals" are actually bracts that frame

the cluster of tiny flowers in the center.

Lichen on the trunk of the dogwood.

Lichen is a composite organism,

formed by a symbiotic association

of an algae and a fungus.

Lichen does not hurt the tree

and is a sign of clean air.

My rhododendrons are blooming.

A prostrate azalea peeks out from

beneath the barberry bushes.

This is a lovely shade of pink.

I am thinking the barberries need to go

as they are taking over the space.

Welcome spring.

Welcome flowers of all kinds.