April Flowers

Ah Minnesota, where it can be snowy one day and flirting with 80F a few days later. My April flowers are the usual suspects. For those who attended my gardening presentations recently, I was worried about my crocuses because of all the mouse and vole activity. I do have two clumps of crocuses left--one yellow and one purple. I'm thinking about planting more spring-flowering bulbs this fall. Here's squill

 and yellow crocuses

and purple crocuses

and daffodils

Our kitty likes to sit with me on the porch in the sun. Or maybe I should say that cat allows me to share his porch.

I love this photo of pasque flower. The camera almost ate the pollen.

This lilac tree is not ready to bloom yet, but the moss is thriving on these cool, damp days. The tangle of branches must be home for ancient woodland spirits.

I'm likin' lichen

This rotting tree stump is home to both moss and lichen. The lichen in the photo is common, but it's pretty fun to see the bright color when most things are the same shade of dull (except for the squill/ Scilla, which are looking pretty good and have popped up in new places again this year). This particular lichen is Cladonia cristatella, or British soldiers, due to the red "caps."