Coming right along.

Outside my kitchen window, the mock orange and the hydrangea show off new leaves; beside the carport, the perfume of purple hyacinths greets me and the bleeding hearts, tall now, have new flower buds. Inside, a column of tiny ants marches from a crack in the baseboard, and climbs into the cat's dish. Spring is officially here.

I checked out Tyee Spit, hoping for Indian-plum flowers. Not yet; not even buds so far. But there are others:

Oregon grape, Mahonia nervosa.

Pussywillows, Salix sp.

Purple dead nettle, Lamium purpureum. "Dead", because it doesn't sting. A member of the mint family.

Coming right along.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Afuera de mi ventana, las hortensias y el filadelfo (Philadelphus sp.) estrenan hojas nuevas; al lado de la cochera, el perfume de los jacintos morados llena el aire y en los corazones sangrantes (Lampnocapnos sp.), ya grandes, las primeras flores empiezan a abrirse. Y en casa, una columna de hormiguitas sale marchando de una grieta en el  rodapié y se interna en el tazón de la gata. Es oficial; estamos en primavera.

Fui a Tyee Spit, en busca de las flores de "Ciruelo de indio", Oemleria cerasiformis, uno de los primeros arbustos en florecer; pero no, ni siquiera encontré botones. Pero había otras flores:

Fotos:

1. Uva de Oregon, Mahonia nervosa. Produce bayas moradas, buenas para jaleas.
2. Las flores de sauce.
3. Ortiga muerta purpúrea, Lamium purpureum. "Muerta" porque no irrita la piel, como lo hacen las ortigas "verdaderas". Pertenece a la familia de las mentas, o yerbabuenas.

Suficiente para ahora.

Why is it ...

That some Oregon grape leaves turn bright red in the winter, but not others?

Oregon grape, Mahonia nervosa*, Miracle Beach.

I always thought it was because of the cold. But here's a red Oregon grape plant; less than a metre away is a clump of green plants. No red to be seen. An effect of a mini-climate, with freezing winds blowing just here, and by-passing the cluster of plants a step away?

*I identify this as Mahonia nervosa, "Dull" Oregon grape, so called because it's not quite as shiny as the tall Oregon grape, Mahonia aquifolium. Both are common in this area, and at first glance look alike, but the "Dull" grows to about waist height, whereas the "tall" grape can be a couple of metres high.

And the leaves are different.** M. aquifolium's leaves have one central vein, with other veins branching out from it. M. nervosa, this one, has a strong central vein, and then fainter veins branching out from the base of the leaf. Look closely at the photo above; the secondary veins are visible. (See E-Flora's photo.)

**I didn't know this until I was poking around to see if I could find an explanation for the difference in colours.