Sweeping Spring Landscape ~ Leafy and Feathery Flames of Light

A fresh spring green landscape awash in first light. 

Rings of chlorophyll reign in the 'north garden' bathed by the rising sun. A diverse family of flora and fauna coexist in our hillside paradise, wearing equally diverse coats of greens and a multitude of colorful blooms, scales, feathers and furs.

Millions of atoms trapping sunlight in varying wavelengths resemble tiny flames of energy. Mighty Oaks stand like guardians before our serpentine Black Cherry, while countless more are unfurling yellow-green leaves across the way on Walnut and Carey hill. The variety of fauna existing within this detail of flora is staggering to ponder.

An old friend and featured Apple is wearing a crown of radiance before metamorphosing forests and the Mount Holyoke Range.

Another senior apple . . . in the right corner of this frame . . . more bonsai-like . . .  with countless newly dressed trees flowing towards Mount Tom. 

Insects and birds delight . . . innumerable branches within a detail . . . feasts to forage. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler . . . just one of hundreds of returning songbirds in our gardens and forest greeting the new day. 

Imagine a myriad of life within the canopies. A very old mountain range is never silent, looking up towards an ever evolving sky. 

Within our natural world drama is endless . . . at times leaving tragic wounds. A native Black Cherry, sadly, split in half a year ago . . . the vulnerability of crouches. A few days past, Michael's tree was the stage for a wrangle between a Pileated Woodpecker and a kvetching male Bluebird. 

Respite rules in the end. 

I am guessing the Pileated female is as bemused as I . . . with this bellicose Bluebird behavior. It is not as though she was close to his nest box. Perhaps Ms. Pileated was making too much noise. It is comical to see such a large bird ruffled by a much smaller one. Not surprising really, as I have seen hummingbirds chasing hawks in the past. Parents become fearless when protecting their young. 

We have had temperatures dipping into the twenties for several nights. Most plants and blooms seem to survive the cold so far . . . the full moon is still nearly a week away. 

Spring can be so mercurial. 

Goodbye April . . . Welcome May.