Spring has Sprung

Some quickie shots of the yard, coming to terms with Spring.

I haven't been able to go out and take photos much this week, due to work issues, even though the ornamental cherry blossoms are popping up everywhere. And I'm traveling for the next week without a computer, so this blog will resume the following week. Please go outside and enjoy the slightly warmer weather, birdsong and blooms! Hope your hayfever isn't too extreme (like mine has been lately). I'll be back with some California (Northern and Southern) tree images. It's been Spring there for quite some time now.

Landscaping Project #1

Our neighbors are doing some landscaping. Not sure what the finished product will be, but I hear tell of built-in sprinklers and an eventual lawn.

Dump Truck

Jackson got a dump truck for his birthday, so he's putting it to good use.

Perfect Day

Yesterday was perfect--sunny and warm. We went to the park and rode our bikes around. Here's an Alder Tree--looking good in the sunshine.

Red Cedar - Oswald West State Park, OR

Chris Havel wrote about Oswald West State Park on his blog, Oregon State Parks last week. Up to 45 old-growth trees are dead or dying near the park's campground and the department had to decide if they should cut them down, or leave the park in its natural state but close the campground for good.

After weighing the pros and cons, they decided to leave the forest as is, close the campground, and remove a few trees that threatened buildings. For the good of the forest, its creatures and our general well-being--knowing there are still old-growth forests to visit, I think this was the wise decision.

photo source: OPRD
More about the park at GORP

The Fluorescent Moss

Spring is coming (despite the snow of this week). You can tell from the day-glow moss (and occasional flower bloom).

The Crazy, Crazy Weather

Today it snowed, sleeted, hailed, snowed again (and again), had freezing rain, then sunshine, then wind and snow in enormous amounts (for about 15 minutes), then brilliant sun. Probably the most confusing weather patterns in one 12-hour period I've ever experienced. My attempts to photograph the day as it unfolded was a failure. It's hard to photograph a storm. So here's yesterday's Daylight Saving's Time sunset.

Lil Trees

All twisty. How festive. I'm counting 'em as trees because they have a central stem (or "trunk"). If you don't agree--sue me.

Your Every-other Daily Tree

Lately I haven't been able to post each day as planned. We all came down with terrible colds that continue to linger in asthmatic ways. My son was really laid low by an ear infection. We're on our way to healthy livin' at the moment but now I find myself working from home on a Web site or two, which is very, very good news. But something's gotta give and it's the tree blog. No worries. If I can't do it daily, I'll do it when I can. We have a lot of trees around here--as you may have noticed.

So without further ado, I present today's tree of March 3, 2009. Good things are coming our way in March. Daylight Savings begins on the 8th (more daylight!). Spring begins in two weeks (time to prune!), and by the end of the month, cold and flu season will have run its course (we hope).