I mentioned I took a little ramble up the drumlin and back on Saturday, when the sun decided to pop out and say hello. You know, that doesn’t actually happen in Seattle very often: downpour, then sunshine. That’s more of an Arizona thing. But it happens sometimes, and one seizes the moment and gallops out of the house to enjoy it.
Look at this. Just a few hours before, the clouds were so thick and the rain so heavy it looked like winter out there, and then bam, this:
The blackberries are blooming, the trees fully leafed out, blue skies – lovely!
By the time I got out, the sun was low, so bits of the path were shadowed. The oxeye daisies at the bottom of the hill were already bathed in twilight.
I should probably go back out when they’re in full sunshine and glowing. But they’re quite pretty in shade, too.
I’d have spent more time with them, but a blaze of purple down the way caught my eye. A nice shaft of sun was hitting some fireweed just so, and it was more beautiful than I’d ever seen it.
I quite like fireweed. Which is astonishing, because it’s native, and I’m usually fatally drawn to the invasives.
And by now, you’re going, “Damnit, Dana, you said mystery flora! But you keep identifying them!!”
Or mis-identifying them, as the case may be – I won’t know until you’ve actually had a chance to say. But I promised you mysteries, and mysteries you shall have!
These are on ornamental bushes in our parking lot. Tiny little purple flowers gathered together in great clusters.
The macros, I think, are pretty neat, but you probably need the entire plant for identification purposes, don’t you?
And then, just because I like it, a macro of a barely blooming bit:
Look kinda like botanical fireworks, don’t they just?
Moments like these, rambling round in unexpected sunshine taking photos of flowers, make life delicious.
Spirea. They smell nice, too. Very sweet.
http://gardenreview.net/japanese-spirea-flowers/
http://trees.naturehills.com/search/index?query=spirea
You beat me to it, rq.
In the UK fireweed is called Rosebay Willowherb, I think I prefer your name.
I have about two hours of time-lag on you, Adrian. :) I think.
Yes, it does look that way.