Signs of spring

[cmcmck]

Our purple heather is flowering. This always comes early:



A single camellia on the bush where there will soon be dozens:



Another early flowerer- gorse:



And our ferns have opened:



 

Comments

[pauraque]

No flowers here yet, but soon!

[cmcmck]

Things are beginning here now and the daffs are out big time!

Thanks for the signs of spring

[jesse_the_k]

Let's hear it for the Gulf Stream! We're at 45° north yet we've barely got a snow drop.

Re: Thanks for the signs of spring

[cmcmck]

Being west coast helps as we get Spring that little bit earlier. :o)

[linky]

These are gorgeous!

[full_metal_ox]

I have to say I like the phrasing of your location statement.

And now I have a mental image of gorse, after having so often read of it in rural settings in the Wise Isles.(1)

(1) An acronymic term I’ve taken to using to denote Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and England jointly, in areas of cultural or ecological overlap; inspired by the name of Wise Choice (1997-2019), a specialty shop run by Welsh expats where Dayton, Ohio residents would source their Earl Grey Tea, jelly babies, and bangers (although I was disappointed not to find laverbread.)

(The disadvantage of this term is that nobody knows what I’m talking about; the advantage is that therefore nobody will punch me in the mouth.)

[full_metal_ox]

Here’s a palette for your heather patch, in complementary yellow-green and red-violet:

[chestnut_pod]

Lovely ferns especially!

[cmcmck]

It's nice to see things starting to bloom!

[cmcmck]

We're in what are known as the Marches in Shropshire on the border between England and Wales- the old Kingdom of Mercia. If you've read any of Ellis Peters' Cadfael novels you'll know exactly where.

You have to have jelly babies and I do love laverbread which we can buy easily locally along with welshcakes and bara brith! :o)

I wonder what tariff agent orange will place on jelly babies?

[cmcmck]

Such a lovely mix!

[cmcmck]

They are an interesting variety as they never entirely wither but do change colour in Autumn.

[adafrog]

Pretty.

[apachefirecat]

The purple heather is so lovely! <3 Thank you for sharing!

[yourlibrarian]

That heather looks so cheerful! Nice to see the color returning.

[cmcmck]

It's nice to see some colour!

[cmcmck]

Y're welcome! :o)

[cmcmck]

It's been a pretty cold winter this year, so it's nice to see things blooming.

[full_metal_ox]

Particularly given that that particular imported delicacy is associated with a fictional hero who’s a checklist of everything the present regime abhors: fond of science, well-versed in history, downright eager to defy arbitrary authority, genderfluid, racefluid, and devoted to, as Craig Ferguson summarized it, “intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism.”

[cmcmck]

:o)

[scytale]

It's all so beautiful! <3 Thank you for sharing!

[cmcmck]

Glad you enjoyed! :o)

Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith]

They're so beautiful. :D I love the closeups of the heather and gorse.

Re: Wow!

[cmcmck]

It's nice to see some colour at last!

[full_metal_ox]

My own admittedly biased observation was that fandom, and the desire to try Book, TV, and Movie Food, brought a lot of Yanks to Wise Choice:

Earl Gray tea (that favorite of Captain Picard).

Jelly babies in honor of the Doctor, particularly Four.

Pork pie, that traditional offering to the Hogfather.

The mysterious Extract of Malt loathed by Roo and craved by Tigger (to the point of making it his staple foodstuff, including as a sandwich spread. (1)

The improbable jellybean flavors from the British Wizard Franchise (2).

Vegemite (as referenced in Men At Work’s “The Land Down Under”) and its rivalrous big sister Marmite.

Whatever the heck treacle was besides the basis for a stock newbie-hazing prank (apparently it does not occur in underground mineral deposits.)

(1) It somehow never occurred to little Full Metal Calf that an extract-of-malt sandwich might be considered eccentric even in-universe: this was Storyland, and the watercress in Roo’s sandwiches was something I’d never encountered personally either.

(2) A term I’ve taken to using in much the same sense as “The Scottish Play.”

[turlough]

Such lovely sings of spring!