Sunday, March 23, 2014

March 23, 2014-Week 14- Up and down


I have read that March is a confused month. As it comes between February, which is clearly Winter, and April, which is clearly Spring, March can be either. This is no novel insight. But it is certainly true.
We have certainly seen this in Iowa City the last few days. Thursday and Friday were in the 50’s, just touching the 60 degree mark on Friday. The front came through and we are stuck in the 30’s again.
What can a person do but enjoy what you get.
Garden work has begun. I am raking up the old leaves and even starting to put down fresh woodchips for the paths. Snow drops are coming up all over. I saw the first aconite emerging yesterday. Julia and I walked by some crocuses a few days ago. They were over on Seventh Avenue. These particular ones always are the first. They are right up by a foundation and have their own dryer vent. They are not exactly an accurate measure of where is Spring. They mean something however.

——————————————————————-
On to the show.
Last week you picked the picture of the mass of crocuses as your favorite. It is a wonderful color. On the other hand I think almost anything with lots of color is what we want this time of year. Everything has been so grey and white and dark. Give us color, please.




The full voting last week was:
Crocus group 29
Hellebore 18
Orchid Cactus 9
Anemone 2
—————————————————
So now let us move on to Week 14. This is Week 2 of the playoffs as you narrow down the field.

Here is your first entry this week. It is the very popular trillium from Week 7. It had advanced from a strong group including the yellow fritillaria. This picture was taken on March 20, 2012. Just think about the difference between a very early spring and a very late spring.



The second entry is the closeup of the night blooming cereus, from week 5. One of the remarkable features of this photograph is the shadows. I can just imagine being in a little spaceship and flying up into the center of this flower.
What a group there was in Week 5. You should be able to check it out in the archive. There was that interior of the deep red poppy. I sometimes wonder if it is fair to have them in a competition with other pictures.


This third picture is the Tree Peony Seidei, the winner from Week 9. I wish there was a way for you to appreciate the size of this flower. Do try to find a place where there are some tree peonies booming this spring. It will be worth the effort. This picture was taken on April 14, 2012. That is really not that far away. Will this plant bloom in April at all this year?

Finally here is this wonderful daffodil, Pink Wonder, from Week 2. How long ago was that. I suppose it was 12 weeks ago. This picture is from April 12, 2012. Daffodils certainly will proclaim that Spring is here. I do look forward to their arrival.


There you have it. Vote this week for your picture to advance to the final finals.
———————————————————
For your bonus pictures this week here are more pictures that did not make the contest this year.




That’s it for this week.

Philip

2 comments:

Pat O'Conner said...

Thanks for doing this, Philip. Here in Connecticut, where gray is the dominant color, dotted by splashes of white (unmelted snow), your colorful pictures are just what the doctor ordered.

Philip said...

As if the put the exclamation point on the long winter, last night it snowed 1-2 inches. It was enough to make everything the all to familiar white.
But it is to be close to 70 they tell me on Sunday.
My head spins.