Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Signs of Spring on a Cold Day

 We had a cold rain on Sunday. In the afternoon, I took these flower photos, feeling a chill in the air. Spring seems to have a short standstill. 
 Andromeda flowers look like a lily of the valley. The name of this tree is written 馬酔木 meaning a tree of horse getting sick. I don't know whether this plant contains any substance of nerve stimulation.
 The petal is thick and dry.  You may think the flowers are artificial when you put them on the palm.
 Crocuses know the time of opening their flowers well. 
 This one is a little bit late for opening.
 I always feel mysterious when seeing christmas rose open its gorgeous flowers at low temperature.
 I wonder what insect despite of a shivering day comes to the flower.

I have been looking forward to see sprouts of fuki or giant butterbur. They have opened up due to some successive warm days. In Japanese cuisine, younger ones just coming out of the ground are cooked "tempura". People love its bitter taste.


11 comments:

  1. Welcome, Spring! My favourites are crocuses. Indigenous people called them "the ears of the earth" because they could hear Spring approaching!

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  2. Hello rtc, We have been having uneven weather here--one day hot, one day cool. But there are many signs of spring if you look for them. You are lucky to have such special wildflowers. I live in the middle of the city, so I have to get more off the beaten path to find anything interesting.
    --Jim

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  3. Dearest RTC.,
    Spring is unfolding very lovingly in your area!
    Love the Andromeda 'bells' indeed they look like lily of the valley.
    Crocus are healthy and lovely. Ours got eaten by the voles so we don't see them any longer...
    We once had an Oriental white Lenten Rose Hellebore in white, that too got eaten...
    They indeed are miracles of the cold period!
    Your Petasites japonicus or Fuki, are lovely as well, we never had any of those.
    Obviously you got your dosage of rain as well.
    Hugs and enjoy your Spring!
    Mariette

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  4. Beautiful signs of spring. We are craving them -- I"m so glad they are in your world!

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  5. I can almost feel a chill looking at these and reading your words! But at least you have flowers. So far I have not seen anything blooming here.

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  6. It was nice to see all the Spring flowers in your area. The Purple flowers are so pretty, and such a vibrant color. The second flower is interesting. They kind of look like a flower we have here called "Snowdrops." I'm glad you got some rain. It's good for the earth and makes everything clean again. : )

    ~Sheri

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  7. Beautiful flowers to relieve our hearts of so many worries because of COVID-19. I especially liked the photos 3 and 4 of the crocus, they are wonderful.
    Have a nice week and stay safe and healthy.
    Greetings from Portugal

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  8. Welcome spring & great article. I followed your blog now. Thx

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  9. Uma publicação, absolutamente fascinante, nos revelando, a Primavera em todo o seu esplendor!...
    Um grande abraço!
    Ana

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