I thought I saw a beautiful Hindu dancer in this grape tendril.
I see a lot of feathers in the woods. This white one had landed on a hemlock twig.
Red wing blackbirds have returned and there are buds on the daffodils but after the third coldest March in 140 years, there is still a lot of ice left to melt in the woods.
Where the river sees sunshine the ice is melting at a faster pace.
This orange crust fungus (Stereum complicatum) was so bright on a rainy day that I could see it from quite far away, like a beacon guiding me into the forest.
Gray rosette lichens are common enough so we often pass them by without a nod but some, like this slender rosette lichen (Physcia subtilis), are worth stopping to admire.
I don’t know what it is with smokey eye boulder lichens (Porpidia albocaerulescens) this year but the wax coatings on their fruiting discs are bluer than I’ve ever seen them. It’s like someone sprinkled candy over the stones.
Beard lichens (Usnea sp.) always remind me of ancient, sun bleached bones. This one grew on a gray birch limb.
Soon these alder (Alnus) catkins will to turn yellow-green and start to release pollen. If you look closely at the catkin on the far right you can see it just beginning to happen.
I’ve been looking for stair step moss (Hylocomium splendens) and I think I might have found it. This moss gets its common name from the way the new branches step up from the backs of the old.
Stair step moss is feathery and delicate and quite beautiful.
At some point in life, the world’s beauty becomes enough. ~ Toni Morrison
Thanks for stopping in.
Great finds!!!!
Thanks!
How nice to see things warming up, you seemed to have had the longest winter. Great set of photos…
Amanda xx
Thank you Amanda. I haven’t seen any flowers yet but we are warming quickly now.
What wonderful photos!
Thank you Ben!
A simple truth. I have passed the link to others.
Thank you again.
Praise be. Be praise
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays.
Thank you for another re-blog Agnes.
You’re very welcome, NHGS,
Wishing you and yours, a very blessed and beautiful weekend. Namaste.
You really do a nice job of highlighting the things most of us are too distracted to notice.
Thanks! That’s really the whole purpose of this blog-to show people what they’re missing.
The beacons that guide us, the light that illuminates, the beauty you find in the simplest things in nature; thank you for your words and pictures.
Thank you Martha. Often the beauty really is enough.
I am keeping an eye on our alder catkins which seem to have been superabundant this year.
We may not have snow here but we can only dream of 60 degrees.
Great pictures once again.
Thank you. We also have a lot of alder and hazel catkins this year. I was just out looking for the tiny female hazel flowers but didn’t see any.
I don’t remember the exact date that we last saw 60 degrees but it seems like it’s been a very long time.
I’m glad to see some colour creeping back into your world and a little sun too. I loved the feather caught on the hemlock, those are the little details that make me smile when I’m out walking.
I agree. You don’t know how tired I am of taking photos of ice and snow but when that’s what nature gives you, there isn’t any choice. I like finding odd things like feathers too. I see quite a few of them.
As some one already said, the title says it all, in a way. This is one of your best posts yet to date, yet saying that seems rather lacking. Great photos, great info, I can’t wait to see what you come up with once spring really gets there.
Thanks Jerry. We’ve reached 62 degrees here this afternoon so spring is on the way.
Your blog was such a nice color contrast for our rainy days to come … not to mention seeing things never seen before.
Thank you. I hope you are healing well and will be able to get back out there yourself soon. I’ve been wondering how showery April will be this year.
I thought you might enjoy this gentleman’s observations.
Delightful. Thanks for sharing these images and words.
You’re welcome. I’m glad that you enjoyed them.
Allen- I truly admire your devotion to being out there so much of your time. I wish I had the time to do the same. Plus I also spend some of my spare time doing writing that is only tangential to observing local nature, I really like your posts and am constantly learning from them. thanks again, and hopefully we can meet one of these days for a foray into the wild.
David “The physical facts fix all the facts.” —Alex Rosenberg
Thank you David. I try to get out there every day for at least an hour but it can be hard to do, especially with a winter like we’ve just had. Once everything dries out a little I’d like some company on the trails. I’d love to see that Virginia chain fern that you told me about.
Beautiful signs of spring! Great shots 🙂
Thanks Michael!
Reblogged this on Writing Out Loud and commented:
Please email me if you know a better blog than this one.
Thank you for another reblog and your kind words.
Wonderful signs of spring. I love the grape tendril, it’s a lot like looking at clouds, you can see all sorts of things if you use your imagination.
Thanks Laura. I know what you mean-people often see things in these shots that I don’t.
Your photographs are both interesting and beautiful, your blog is a joy to view.
Thank you Susan. Walking slowly and taking a second look can reveal some amazing things in nature.
Wonderful shots–your title says it all.
Thanks Mike. There are many beautiful things out there.
Very nice images! I’ll see if I can’t send some of our recent warm weather your way.
Thanks! We’ll take all we can get!