This guy embodies spring - a flash of color in a dark wood, highlighting the emerging redbud flowers.  Mated pairs of Northern Cardinals stick close together, and sure enough, this guy was keeping watch about 10 feet up while his mate was making short flights between shrubs at waist height.  Looking for a spot to…Read more Nesting?

We actually were in DC this weekend, and the flowers were beautiful.  Taking a picture without hordes of people was a challenge!  But a beautiful spring day, surrounded by history AND flowers, is not a bad one. Photo credit - Lynn Abbott

OK, this isn't the ideal picture - it was taken quickly from a moving bus on a school field trip, when the objective was more about the Jefferson Memorial than the cherry trees - but you get the idea!  Peak Cherry Blossom bloom is supposed to happen in DC, particularly around the Tidal Basin, this…Read more Cherry Blossoms in DC

The new leaves appear committed, and the temperature is finally starting to cooperate.  I think Spring may be actually here, and no longer teasing.  Just in time for March to go out like (with) a Lamb!

English Ivy (Hedera helix) has long been used as an ornamental vine, climbing rustic rock walls and carpeting old surfaces in green.  However, it is invasive to the US, and, like kudzu, can choke out other species, even growing thick enough to tear down small trees with its weight alone.  This particular vine is spreading…Read more Invasive Ivy

One more from the Goose Creek Trail inside the Lost Creek Wilderness, Colorado, this one showing the last remnants of winter snow on the north-facing slopes.  If you haven't been able to tell from the last couple days' posts, I was able to spend some quality time in Colorado this week.  Working up a trip…Read more Goose Creek Trail

Ice still clogs Goose Creek in this late winter photo in the Lost Creek Wilderness, Pike National Forest, Colorado.

 I meant to get this out yesterday, but no connection where I was.  What you see here is the lingering result of the largest (by acreage) forest fire in Colorado history, the Hayman Fire, in Pike National Forest.  Set by humans in 2002, this is what the area looks like today.  I can't tell you…Read more Hayman Burn

It hasn't necessarily been obvious why I'm going by "Flying" Squirrel, but this ought to clarify.  Flying offers perspective, and for the most part forces the small stuff into the background, reminding me how things fit together on a larger scale.  This particular perspective is cross Sandy Hook, NJ towards the mouth of the Hudson…Read more New York, New York

I don't need to know what they're talking about, the conversation wasn't meant for me.  They're very lucky to have each other, and I'm lucky to have them in my life. Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott

This splash of Indian Paintbrush among the Joshua trees of the Mojave Desert in California is just one of many desert flowers that briefly paint the otherwise stark landscape in spring.  Every once in a while, the conditions are just right for a "super bloom".  Right now, in Anzo-Borrego State Park in southern California, the…Read more Desert Blooms

It's the time of year for otter pups!  Away in their dens, a new otter generation is being born!  No matter who you are, watching otters play - genuinely doing things because it's FUN - can't help but make you smile, as it shows animals can do things just for the enjoyment of it, and…Read more River Otters

OK, maybe one more.  Another from Myrtle Point looking over the Patuxent River! Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott

The orange giant star Aldebaran, 65 light years from Earth in the constellation Taurus, is about to be occulted by the first-quarter moon in this picture taken just before midnight on March 4, 2017.  When viewed through a telescope, you could actually see the Moon moving against the starry background, until Aldebaran winked out behind…Read more Aldebaran Sunset

This has happened almost overnight.  After an incredibly warm winter, March 1 is already looking like spring as the fruit trees bloom and new leaves are sprouting.  Peak day for Cherry Blossoms in DC is projected to be March 14th.