Flowers in our yard

For a couple of weeks in the spring we have a lot of color in our yard from rhododendrons, irises, daylilies, lupines, and a few unidentified other things. The bees are happy, and almost outnumber the mosquitoes.

Canoeing

At 5:00 this morning the temperature was 35 degrees, and I was concerned for the flat of tomato plants on the deck. By the time we went out in the canoe it was in the upper fifties, and much more June-like.

This part of the lake is a small shallow cove, which contains a few large boulders similar to those found in the woods, thanks to the most recent glacier to pass through the neighborhood. Several of the rocks support dwarf trees or blueberry bushes. The largest of the boulders has split into several sections, and I assume that eventually the winter ice will break them apart into smaller boulders.

Last fall I photographed reflections of the colorful foliage in this area. Reflections of the green spring leaves are interesting as well.

Since the cove is shallow, warm, and fairly stagnant, it is usually filled with blooms of algae. These colonies are filled with air bubbles, and resemble the ice that forms here before the lake gets covered with snow. This morning in the cove we saw large and tiny fish, some sunning turtles, a gigantic snapping turtle lurking on the bottom, and an otter scampering along the shoreline. When it is warm, mosquitoes and deerflies are abundant here as well.