“Hurts my eyes in an interesting way”.
But seriously: I like it.
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Before and after:
Unfortunately a lot of our green areas were maritime pine plantations. They are groomed so they grow very tall, couple that with their voluminous canopy which acted like sails and the storm broke most trees around here, few of this species survived, mostly young or “natural” ones, which had not been groomed to grow too tall, or were not planted in rows. There were not many remaining after some big fires a few years ago and this was the last straw. At least the squirrels I photographed a while ago seemed to have survived, as I saw some running around when I passed through there.
Fun fact, this pine plantation was started around 740 years ago by one of our first kings, mainly to stop the progress of the sand dunes, and was one of the main sources of wood for our ships during the age of exploration. Now it’s all gone, maybe a more native and resistant ecosystem will rise in its place.
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I was at the garden talking to one of the gardeners when I said “I’ve been keeping an eye out for spiders, but I haven’t seen one in a few months. Oh wait there’s one.”
This little guy, about a quarter inch long, caught my eye crawling along a stem. He let me take some photos for a minute before jumping away.
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I love those things. They will play with you, or it seems like it. You can put a finger down to them and they come to it. You move it a little and they jump back away. But if you’re still again, they come back to it.
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Perth and Kinross is known as “Big Tree Country”. I have been experimenting with camera movement using these trees as subjects.
I don’t intend to extend the experiment, by setting the camera on long exposure and throwing it in the air 
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Headed toward spring
No, make that “spring is here”, but winter may not be done yet. At least I have to believe there’s at least one more cool bit coming. Maybe not. I’d love an early / long spring, but I fear we’re headed toward an early / long hot summer (for six months).
At any rate, the water lilies are showing up, even if nothing else has popped up green on the lake (although trees are budding elsewhere).
Done in ART with a little more work elsewhere.
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Yep, in Colorado we have lillys pushing up out of the dirt, “sucker flowers” I call 'em, just waiting for the pile-on snows we can get in March and April.
Too-early leaf buds on the trees too. I’ve heard somewhere that most trees have three budding cycles. This was unsubstantiated information; anyone with a forestry degree out there who can confirm/refute that assertion??? What I do know from experience is that early leaves give heavy snows a place to sit in the tree, compromising the limbs.
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I don’t know about leaves, but some trees start flowering here (including cherry, almond and apricot). A late frost has an effect on the harvest (or lack of…)
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Hey @ggbutcher, you’re correct. Although I don’t have a forestry degree, I am a biologist… so this is a bit of a generic response (please forgive me).
Many deciduous trees (I don’t have good knowledge of evergreen) that produce flowering buds (some trees flower early) are set during late summer (pruning off flower buds in winter can wreck an apple harvest, for example), ready for spring, and get going early to make the most of a good warm sunny day (insect/wind/self pollinators have different ‘strategies’…). They may only need one day of good weather to get going. Other leaf buds are often set in spring (some in late summer as well), and may develop later. Some trees, elms/oaks have a second budding for leaves mid summer to make the most of the sun… and then set flowering buds again ready for next year; three bud cycles per year!
Tropical versus temperate climate deciduous trees function differently of course.
It’s a question of balance to get the best pollination opportunity; make the most of conditions and get pollinated. As well as make hay whilst the sun shines…
Notwithstanding the changes to our recent (circa. last 400 years) climate, trees have evolved to adapt to changeable conditions… let’s hope the climate does not change too much and everything can adapt.
Edit: I had to go look part of this up… I knew there was a specific name, it’s called Lammas growth: Lammas growth - Wikipedia
Everyday is a school day on pixls.us
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… and so I could not help but go and capture buds…
1, pear tree, showing pruned branch, that last year grew a new shoot, which is now budding with a flower, and has a shoot bud forming
2, cherry tree… multiple flower buds (set late last summer) on the end of a branch (don’t prune these off in winter!)
Happy sunny days… and anticipation of eating delicious fruit!
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Visit to the historic cemetery in Ümmigen.
The oldest gravestone dates back to 1623.
“IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1623, ON APRIL 10, KATRINE ZUM SCHEFEN PASSED AWAY IN GOD’S GRACE.”
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Damn it…you peaked my curiosity and I have spent the past 30min finding out more about leaf buds than I ever needed! 
Seriously though, your post was interesting!
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Is it relevant that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet?
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Italy…
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Verona, even… But the croissants on the tape hints that it could be foul play by the French.
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On a background of Azure blue… 
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