Sometimes you can just do nothing...

... and beauty will happen, all on its own. -- PL

Not exactly springing into Spring...

It may be a completely subjective and inaccurate assessment, but it seems to this observer of the seasons that this past Winter was very reluctant to loosen its grip upon our area, and Spring has been slow to follow... almost hesitant, as if fearing that blooming flowers might inspire the gods of snow to let loose with one last blast of the freezing cold white fluff.

But today I saw some signs which encouraged me.

I was on a bicycle ride through the lovely campus of Smith College, and stopped to admire -- and take photos of -- several colorful bits of flora. This beautiful flowering bush resides behind John M. Greene Hall...

... and this lovely tree bedecked in white blossoms stands next to the Smith greenhouses.

While searching for a bench upon which to sit and drink my decaf coffee, I noticed this tree in full bloom, surrounded by a field of yellow flowers, on a slope below one of the dormitories, and took a series of photos from which I could make this panoramic view.

After I'd put the bicycle away and headed home on my motorcycle, I decided to take the long way back, and stopped by the beaver pond in Conway, to take a few shots of this lone duck -- or is it a goose? -- and its reflection on the gently rippling water.

Yes, it's taking its own sweet time, but I do believe Spring is finally coming. -- PL

Cold and warm

A couple of days ago, I decided to take a walk around the pond at Mount Holyoke College in nearby South Hadley, MA. It's usually one of my favorite walks, but sadly -- due to recent heavy snow, then warming, followed by freezing -- the path around the pond had turned into a rough-edged nightmare of uneven and very slippery ice where previous walkers had left their multitudinous boot prints in slushy snow which had then frozen solid and slick. I realized after struggling on this surface for a hundred feet or so that (a) it was not going to get any more pleasant and (b) I was very likely going to fall on my ass, so I decided to walk elsewhere.

And that was fine, as it gave me a chance to take some photographs of ice formations I found interesting at various spots on the river which runs from the aforementioned pond through the middle of the campus.

As I walked past the college's greenhouse, my eye was drawn through a slightly frosted window to a group of curious flowers, with bulbous, almost pumpkin-shaped blooms. I walked on, but a few minutes later, curiosity won me over. I returned and went into the greenhouse. I'd never been inside before, but the sign on the door said "Public Welcome", so I spent about twenty minutes exploring the various rooms and the beautiful plant life contained therein.

I took a number of photographs, though I neglected to get any shots of the labels for each of the plants. Still, I think the shapes and colors speak for themselves… and they say "What a nice, warm place to be on such a cold and icy day!" -- PL