nothing lasts forever

Recently, two of my favorite cousins came
to visit and they brought me
these beautiful tulips to welcome spring.

Oh well, they were lovely 
while they lasted.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday
and Our World Tuesday.]

Spring is springing

Or at least it was until the temperature
dropped to 25°F (-4°C) a few
days ago.  I put this shot on Instagram and
an observant friend commented 
that it looks like Snuffleupagus from 
Sesame Street.  I agree!

[Linking back to Weekend Reflections
and to Pink Saturday.]

Thursday Challenge—"spring"

 . . . when the cherry trees in front of my building
bloom for a wonderful week or so—then turn
the sidewalk into a pretty pink carpet.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

Happy Monday

Hard to get back to the daily grind today.
Here's a little taste  of the gorgeous,
sunny, flower-filled spring
weekend we just had here in NYC.

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows and Macro Monday.]

Thursday Challenge—"closeup"

To me these said, "Yes, spring really is here. We promise."

And here's that promise kept.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo
Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]

Today's Flowers

I know these don't look much like flowers
right now.  But in two or three months
the frozen buds on this dogwood tree outside
my window will burst into bloom and 
the tree will be covered with pink blossoms.
Meanwhile . . .

[To see more of Today's Flowers, go here.]

It won't be too long

. . . I hope.  I'm getting pretty sick of this frigid 
weather—a wind chill of -7°F (-22°C) when I woke 
up on Friday—and am looking forward
to daffodils popping up and flowering trees
like this one coming into bloom.  (I took this shot
on March 17 a few years ago, but that was a 
much milder winter than the one we're having; I'll
be curious to see when it blooms this year.)

[Linking back to Today's Flowers
and Shadow Shot Sunday.]

ABC Wednesday—Q is for 'quai"

Lots of Parisians were making the most of
an early-spring day by strolling along the Seine
and taking in this world-class view
(shot from under the Pont de la Tournelle). 

[To see more posts that feature the letter Q, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

It's my favorite time of year—the brief period 
when the flowering trees burst into bloom. 
Especially welcome after the winter we've had!

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

A host of golden daffodils

Today's Thursday Photo Challenge is "spring."

I know the season's here for sure when the
daffodils start "spring"ing up everywhere.
These are in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, but
shortly after 9/11, the Netherlands sent a crew
of people here with thousands of bulbs,
which they planted in every green space they could 
find, all over the city. They still bloom every spring.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

Signs of Spring

The thing I love best about this season
is when all of the flowering trees
burst into beautiful bloom. Just to put 
things in perspective, I took another shot of 
this very same crab apple tree back in January.

 [Today's Thursday Photo Challenge is "spring."
To see more, go here.]

Mellow Yellow Macro

This tree looked so cheerful covered in
these bright yellow blooms.  I'd love to tell 
you what it's called, but I don't know—
hoping someone can tell me.


[To see more Mellow Yellow, go here;
to see more macros, visit Lisa's Chaos.]

Macro Monday

With just a bit more than a month until spring,
here's a little something to look forward to.


[To see more macros, visit Lisa's Chaos.]

Thursday Challenge — "best of 2011 (part 2)"

Since Dale has given us a second shot at
"Best of 2011," I'm taking the opportunity on 
this dark, dreary winter day to repost 
this photo (the category was "spring") as 
something to look forward to in a few months.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

Pink!

The tulips are out at the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden—
another spectacular display!

another balloon boy

Caught this one (and he caught me catching

him!) recently along Gramercy Park North, on one 

of the first beautiful spring days we had

after more than our share of snow followed

by more than our share of rain.  He did remind

me a bit of this guy.

[See more My World Tuesday posts here.]

photo Hunter — "three"

This is a little trick I like to do on the

vernal equinox. Have you ever tried

it? As you can see, it works!

A physicist (and spoilsport) friend of mine 

insists that you could actually

balance an egg on its end on any day

of the year, but I still prefer to reserve this 

exercise in concentration and

patience for the 1st day of spring.

(Yay—finally, it's here!)

[See more interpretations of "3" here.]

Wisteria sinensis

If I had a house with a yard, the whole

place would be dripping with wisteria.

I've seen houses where the vines

brought down the porch, and thought

it would be worth having to rebuild

if you had these flowers blooming for

even a week or two every year.

rule of (green) thumb

If you're going to plant some flowers

(like these gorgeous grape hyacinths,

for example) don't hold back—go

ahead and plant thousands of them!

big apple in bloom

If you wanted to sell an apartment on this

block, this would be the week to do it,

don't you think?  (And that's the library

in the distance—I've shown it to you

once or twice.)