Happy Spring!

[summer_jackel]

Blessed Equinox! We went for a walk this morning.



Coba in the morning.


Flowers! This one is an invasive that lives in a couple of landscaped patches, and as feral landscaping, in town. I snagged a cutting last year, and it's happily blooming now. I shall contain it, but I love the yellow.



My new pet tree, a weeping cherry. I love these things, and I hope it thrives:






This one is a native; a wild bleeding heart, Dicentra formosa. I've only found one small patch of this in walking distance from home.




Also a native; but for some reason I can't find it on Califlora right now.


This delightful little thing is Cynoglossum grande, the western houndstongue.




This is a different western houndstongue. Or, since they're originally from Russia, would she be an eastern houndstounge?


Pack doing stays and obedience routines.


Blissy Bliss


Frisking in the woods on Equinox:


A California slender salamander, found under a bit of wood that I replaced immediately after taking this picture.


A beautiful fungus


Wood trillium, Trillium ovatum, one of my favorites. They never last long, but the dry winter seems to have resulted in fewer of them and a shorter season this year.



A pretty little native community with yellow violets and trillium.


The same community, about a week ago:


When the blooms open, they are white; over the course of a week, they turn to burgundy before dying off.










Viola sempervirens, the beautiful redwood violet"





Coba showing off his adorable little paws.


And his tongue.




Another pretty fungus!


More hound.




A rare find, the beautiful calypso orchid, Calypso bulbosa. These are tiny, lovely fragile little beauties that bloom briefly










I made a garland of broom flowers with which to bring in the spring, and made the doggies wear it. This is the bonny broom of the Cowdenknowes, a nasty invasive in California, so I have no objections to making flower crowns out of it.







Because this is my flower post, I am throwing in some that were more fully in bloom last week. I love this one, Scoliopus bigelovii, a tiny, gorgeous lily called, no kidding, fetid adderstongue or slinkpod. It's called this because it's a bit smelly to attract its pollinators, ants. I think it's amazing.






A banana slug!


Coba says, happy spring!