Happy Easter

Spring Fever 2016

Part of why I love early spring is I can still enjoy some naked trees which I like as well as ones beginning to flower.



I had a bad case of spring fever this week so I went for a lunch time walk at work.



When I primarily worked from home on the occasional days I had to work in the office I almost always went on photo walks.



Now that I'm working at the office every day I like to get in early and leave early to avoid the worse part of the traffic and don't usually go on lunch time walks.



I decided to bring my camera to work one day and go on a walk in honor of spring fever.



I don't take photographs all the time like I used to.



I do try to make sure not to miss captures of each season and seasonal changes.



Probably my favorite season isn't a season at all.



My favorite time is that in between point between each of the seasons.



I like the first flowers as well as the lingering bare places and waving brown grasses.



I started to say amber waves of grain and I do like the amber you sometimes get but I also like the browns and tans.



For me the dots of color here and there from early flowers are more beautiful when the winter hues and tones are also around.



I revel in each individual flower or flowering trees during early spring in ways that I don't during the peak growing season.



I'm the same way at the end of summer when the first fall leaves begin to change.



Seeing specific leaves that have changed to their fall colors and some of the late flowers that are hanging on after early frost delight me in a similar way to early spring.



I took so many shots during my lunch time walk this week that I didn't eat my sandwich until I was back at my desk working.



There are so many changes going on that I'm hoping we don't have anymore frost.



The next 10 days, if the forecast holds, will continue to be mild but we still have over three to four weeks to go until the average last frost date.



Although I only live less than 30 miles from where I work, the average last frost where I live is one week before the one where I work.



All of the shots above except for the first one were taken in Durham, NC during a walk this past week.



The previous shot and the rest of the shots were taken in Raleigh, NC where I live.



This is certainly becoming a long illustration of spring fever.



Although some of the Japanese Magnolias don't have very many blooms due to early buds getting zapped by low temperatures in winter, there are still a fair amount in my neighborhood.



The next several shots were taken at Logan Trading Center today (Saturday) in Raleigh.



Bill was picking up garlic and periwinkle and I picked up some wildflower seeds.



The painted scene in the background of the next shot is on a trailer.



I guess I'll end with one last shot I took after returning to my neighborhood.

Monday February 22 through March 6, 2016

Usually I don't like cars to get into my building shots but the green truck coordinated quite well with the green roof in downtown Durham, NC.



The red car went with the red trim too.



I don't usually spend much time walking on the parts of downtown Durham that are building intensive because I like to go to a garden near where I work.



For a change it was fun shooting some of the older buildings.



The next few shots were taken when I got home from work and the rain was so hard it was flooding my deck and walks.



On my way home I heard a tornado warning about a group of cells in the general area where I worked and to seek immediate shelter.



Since I was driving away from the tornado cells I sought shelter at home.



I don't think there were any confirmed tornadoes that touched down but it was pretty intense.  The next day the weather turned cold but was beautiful.



We've had some great skies to shoot.



I love clouds in all shapes, forms and colors.



The rest of the shots are from the first week of March.



There are beginning to be more and more signs of spring although the weather goes back and forth.



I like early spring signs that hold so much promise.



I hope we can avoid any severe weather for awhile.



Spring flowers can handle a bit of frost but drastic drops impact blooms.



The average last frost where I live is early April.



Trees like the one below always remind me of enchanted forests.



There were a lot of trees down in the woods at Blue Jay Point Park in Wake County, NC.



The woodland shots are from a walk there today (Sunday).



It was chilly but a perfect day to walk.



The Japanese Magnolias aren't doing well this year. They started budding out too fast when we had a warm spell during winter and then got zapped by ice storms.



Most of the ones I have seen appear to have about half their normal amount of buds that look viable.