The spring picture thread

[Andre]

Main Question or Discussion Point

I was shooting some macro pix in the park today.

Actually I was targetting this lichen in that pic:

and this one:

But it's more about the new life:

Feel free to share your spring pictures.

 

[rewebster]

I hate to have to mow the first time each year--its violets time

the magnolia just smells great

The two new nectarines and the old one are blooming and the peach is just starting (not in picture)

the front yard has been in bloom (daffodils, hyacinths, tulips) for a while; and ceta, hosta, star flowers, lilies, and lilies of valley, red peonies (short red stalks) are coming up all over

some ferns are still in fiddlehead, more lilies of the valley----the flower petals of the magnolia will turn the ground pink and white for a while--then, turn rust color, dry out and the worms eat them all within a couple weeks:

worm mounds--last year, I think--but its the same every year
The worms reach out of their hole at night, and drag the blossoms back to the top of their hole to munch on (day and night)from the protection of their hole

 

[Redbelly98]

I was shooting some macro pix in the park today.

Wow, nice action shot of that photographer. This one was well camouflaged, good find!

 

[Andre]

Wow, nice action shot of that photographer. This one was well camouflaged, good find!

He was totally caught of guard indeed

Here is a grebe today, with spring in mind, thinking about family planning.

 

[Andre]

I pay them a visit nearly every day, maybe they get used to me and maybe they agree to show off their offspring in another week or two. Here are both of them.

The nicest shot from a series, slightly cropped and reduced to 30% of the original.

The backlight was rather challenging and required quite some fine tuning from the original raw picture file.

 

[rewebster]

Ferns are great for photographing

 

[Borek]

Nice geometry

Reminds me affine fern.

 

[Gokul43201]

Ferns are great for photographing

Heh! I took some very similar pictures of younger ferns last spring.

 

[rewebster]

Heh! I took some very similar pictures of younger ferns last spring.

do I have quote that one about great minds?

 

[Andre]

Meanwhile, I saw Huey, Dewey, Louie and (or in) April, today

 

[Andre]

Seen in the local garden today:

Spring in pink:

 

[turbo]

If the ferns are ostrich ferns, the young "fiddleheads" are very tasty. Steam them and serve with butter and a bit of cider vinegar, salt and pepper.

We don't have too much new spring foliage, apart from some new tiny leaves on willows, etc. So here's a picture of what we do have - snow-capped mountains. We got snow both days last weekend.

 

[Andre]

Meanwhile the grebes have been on the nest for several weeks now. It looks like the wings are spread a bit more. Chicks underneat?

Life size crop, notice the algae fibres on the nose:

 

[Kerrie]

Ferns and baby ducks-can't get any more spring-like than that!

 

[turbo]

Well, it's mating-season for crane flies. This amorous couple was on the back deck, and when I startled them, they flew onto the wall. Very clumsy flying, BTW, because they were hooked together, but somehow they pulled it off. By the way, the female crane fly (on the top) is a couple of legs shy of a full complement.

Honeybees are here early (though no pictures). We haven't had many around the past few years, but today I saw several, comfortably ahead of the flowering of my apple trees. Fingers crossed for good pollination and a great crop.

 

[Andre]

Ferns and baby ducks-can't get any more spring-like than that!

The goose chicks are maybe spring-est?

 

[hypatia]

The best sign of spring here, Moral Mushrooms!

 

[Andre]

And there they are, my most favorite spring signs in the Netherlands.

Mother (father) grebe proudly presenting piggybacking chick one and chick two

explaining to a casually passing coot that it were to be preferred if he'd leave the area in a most expedited way

The chicks are not visible most of the time,

Happy family

Portrait of chick one (life size crop)

I see I need a EOS 550D, it was totally overcast and the pic was taken with ISO 500, this was the best compromise between manually sharpening and noise reduction of the RAW image in DPP.

 

[drizzle]

At first, I thought it's a sponge or somthing, nice hypatia.

Wow Andre, those little chicks look so cute, kind of unique-looking creatures.

 

[Andre]

Yes it's amazing, drizzle

Today I made the dream shot, almost

The transfer moment of the fish, spoiled by some stalks and blades. :grumpy:

 

[lisab]

Yes it's amazing, drizzle

Today I made the dream shot, almost

The transfer moment of the fish, spoiled by some stalks and blades. :grumpy:

Wow :!!) what a great shot, Andre!

And can a little chick really eat a meal that's almost as big as his own head?!?

 

[Andre]

Yes it can Lisa. I'll show you sequence lateron

Made some dream shots after all. Yay!! It was well worth laying in the mud, waiting and waiting.

Dad or mum arrived with a little fish but from that left side it was to far from the chicks, so the mum or dad on the nest took over the fish and offered it the the closest chick:

The full frame:

Life size crop

 

[turbo]

Spring means apple-blossoms. Hoping for enough warm dry weather this week to get them well-pollinated. Last year's crop was terrible due to the cold wet spring.

 

[Borek]

Yay!! It was well worth laying in the mud, waiting and waiting.

Lying in a mud to take such shot is a pleasure. Specific one, but still pleasure.

 

[Andre]

Lying in a mud to take such shot is a pleasure. Specific one, but still pleasure.

Exactly right.