April 23, 2006

First Green

somegreen

After a few days of warm sunshine and a full day of cold rain, I pulled on my boots and tramped through the puddles in my woods to see what changes the spring-like weather had brought. A misty green has crept across the landscape – wild grasses pushing their way up through mud, tiny leaves unfolding on bushes, whole patches of mayflower leaves bright against dead brown leaves. The mosses, which soak in rain the way my teenagers soak in music, are lush and soft, brilliantly green.

Most of the trees are still bare, the lines of their branches and trunks reflecting in the dark puddles, but the woods is filled with an adolescent energy, an expectancy. I can feel the currents as I walk through puddles and climb over fallen logs. Leaves and stems are just waiting to burst open, burst forth. I love the edge of spring, that moment balanced in time just before lush foliage fills the sky.

firstgreen

21 comments:

L said...

Lovely pictures. I love this period as well, though here in Philly we're just past this point and the flowers are giving way to leaves everywhere...

Spring is my favorite season. After living for 25 years enjoying constant green trees and lush vegetation in Brazil, it was extremely tough to face my first winter in Massachusetts. When Spring came, I felt like I was coming back to life as well. That was 9 years ago, but Spring still remains as magic as ever for me.

Anonymous said...

so lovely.

Anonymous said...

woods filled with adolescent energy -- what an image!

BeachMama said...

My favorite green is that of Spring. Gorgeous photos, you are fortunate to have such beauty right outside your door.

zelda1 said...

I like the bursting forth and the falling off. So, spring is good until it's all out there and the weather turns to heat, real heat, like 115 degrees in the shade heat. Then in the fall, when the leaves begin to change and they drop and the temperature drops right along with it, that's what I like. Your picture is great, makes me want to go find a shallow river and follow it down the mountain.

Jules said...

"the edge of spring"

Love it!

LutheranChik said...

Very nice photos. We're at about the same stage of spring here in Outer Podunk...maybe a teeny bit farther along, actually; I'm going to have to mow my lawn this week!

Mona Buonanotte said...

The maples in our neighborhood burst their pregnant bellies of seeds and leaves last week. The seeds are clustered in spider-web formations, and they drift down onto unsuspecting heads and car windshields and cling there, waiting to see what happens next! They look sweet green, like the plants in your photo...nothing else looks like Spring Green!

halloweenlover said...

I feel the energy around here also. New leaves everywhere, bulbs peeking out, flowers just blooming. What an amazing time of year!

Anonymous said...

I love these trees - still the spare, straight sentinels of winter - swathed up to their knees in the soft greens of spring, as if the season works its way from the ground up.

Unknown said...

Your photos are beautiful, jo(e). It's such a hopeful shade of green.

Jennifer said...

Gorgeous. Maybe someday you'll take us on a photo tour of the woods. ? Or have you already...? I'd love to disappear into this place anytime of the year.

listie said...

Beautiful; I love the pictures.

negativecapability said...

I thought of you when I sat on a moss-covered log this weekend (because of "Gathering Moss")

undine said...

You've captured it perfectly. I can feel the cold still in the air.

mendi-la said...

beautiful

Pink Cupcake said...

Beautiful photos...I love the green and the reflections in the water.

frog said...

Gorgeous!

Sally said...

Beautiful, I love reflections.

Andromeda Jazmon said...

Beautiful!! You've captured it perfectly in words and pictures.

For some reason our school filter blocks your blog and I don't get many turns on the computer at home these days, so I haven't been able to visit you before. I see what I am missing now and I am going to insist on more opportunities!!!

oldwhitelady said...

I enjoyed your photos of greenery. I think Spring is such a nice time, with the rebirth of plants and the flowers that appear.