COAST-TO-COAST CRABAPPLE BLOSSOMS

Picture taken Saturday of our crabapple tree blossoming here in New Hampshire

Greetings, fellow shut-ins!  In this post, we meander away from the hobby and into "real life" once again.  The prompt for this interlude was a recent post on the excellent Palouse Wargaming Journal blog featuring a blossoming crabapple tree in Jonathan's yard ("garden" for our UK visitors).  This post appeared this last Saturday when, coincidentally, I had been out in my yard taking pictures of our crabapple tree in blossom.  Jonathan is out in Washington State and I'm across the continent here in New England, just about as far as you can get and still be in the US: spring seems to be breaking out in both spots at the same time.  Every year, there is a moment here in New Hampshire when the season seems to turn overnight. You wake up to see that the buds you have been watching closely for any change have suddenly have become leaves. This last weekend was that turn, and it provided inspiration for capturing the new season with my new fancy smart phone (yes, I took the plunge). So, I thought I'd take this coincidence as a sign to follow up on my April 6 post about the emerging season (then it was winter to spring). In this post, you may clix pix for BIG PIX as usual.

Most mornings, I'm up at dawn and get my exercise in with a power walk to the University where I work and back to my house (I'm fortunate to live so close).  Above is Monday's view on campus across he "great lawn" to the Thompson Hall clock tower. Everything had gone green there as well.   

Around campus, it was evident that the season had turned. Like most, our campus is closed with no students resident and staff and classes working remotely.  This adds to the tranquility of the place, even during these normally quiet early morning hours.  

In another sign of a change for the better (fingers crossed), the fitness center on campus (above) which has been closed and outfitted to serve as an emergency facility to treat COVID 19 patients is in being retained for now but stood down one level of readiness as the state begins to move through the opening up process. 

Coming back from my walk and looking out of the house over the back deck: the patio furniture is now out and things have gone green.  In the middle view, you can see the "ledge": here in the "Granite State" granite outcroppings like this are not uncommon.

Closeups of the ledge: in my April 6 post, it was here that a single point of blue caught my eye and indicated the emergence of spring. It is now blooming out in its early spring colors. I always find this scene reminiscent of an Alpine garden.  Turning from this, we revisit the walk to the back of the property as recorded on April 6.

The entrance to the woods, now with more foilage around it, is more distinctly "door-like" than before (what can I say? It's my imagination and it keeps me entertained). 

 Crossing through the door and taking the path back,..

...you now begin to notice a "green glow" ahead of you as you continue towards the back...

 ...along the way is this little whimsy.  This gave our dog quite a start when we first put it up. There are bears in our neighborhood, so it's not that far fetched to imagine a cub clinging to a tree.  We do have to take down our bird feeders in the spring as a precaution (otherwise the bears will have at them, often with destructive results).

Arriving at the gate at the back of the property, now the green is on full display...

 ...following along the back fence and turning back towards the house, the forest floor has gone over to its summer green...

..leaving the forest and coming back through the door back into the yard...

...we spy an early diner on the ledge. We may not have our bird feeders out any longer, but we still do put some seeds out on the ledge in the morning for the birds and other critters...

...turning about, our household saint still abides in its corner, only with a tad more green around it than before. 

Well, that's it for this interlude. Normal hobby programming will resume in our next post.

Excelsior!