Thursday, April 09, 2009

Green lights in the understory

Nothing says "spring" to me like the bright yellow-green leaves in the brown understory of the forest. Every year I wait and watch for them; every year they're new and magic.


Indian plum, each new bud like a burst of green flame.


Yellow-green, or chartreuse, is
the most visible color to the human eye because it sits directly in the middle of the frequencies of visible light. (Wikipedia)
I didn't know that. I did know that a ray of spring sunlight, angling down between the heavy evergreen branches overhead, and shining through a spray of fresh-sprouted salmonberry leaves, catches my breath away.


The newest baby horsetails.


Willow over the slough.


Willow catkins, close up.


Salmonberry leaves.


Elderberry; coarser, tougher, fast-growing. In a couple of weeks, the flowers will be in full bloom.


The holly and the ivy. Dark evergreens, but now even they are fringed with golden light.

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2 comments:

  1. Yes, that "new growth" green is something to behold!

    The pheasant was right under our bedroom window this morning (I throw seed there for the Juncos and Varied Thrushes). Poor thing wanders hither and thither, beating its wings and squawking for a mate ... and there is no mate to be found! We are so surprised that it has lived a whole year in the wild around here with all the foxes and coyotes, and ... around.

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  2. How beautifully green that willow catkin is! Thanks for showing all the green sprouting and leafing lovelys.

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