Green stuff

Our nature does not seaze to amaze me with its flexibility when it comes to the temperatures in spring. It has been real cold these past days, but the rain then and sun now have caused another burst in the green. Bushes and the earliest trees are pushing out leaves and flowers keep popping up everywhere.

Hepatica

Hepaticas have popped up here and there in the forest and next to our garage door.

Tulips, narcissi and muscaris

Have I mentioned how much I love our new yard? Every few days I find new surprises there, as new flowers pop up here and there. It is now full of wood anemonies, scillas and some hepaticas too. Narcissi are blooming (not all of them yet, though) as are the first tulips. Absolutely wonderful sea of flowers!

The sea of flowers

Blue and white, the colors of Finland. In the spring time, these two colors can be found mingled together in a sea of wood anemonies and liverworts. I have always wanted to live by a forest where liverworts (hepaticas) grow, never before I have, but now we do. It's beautiful! The blooming of liverworts and wood anemonies overlap somewhat. Liverworts are the earlier bloomers of these two.

 

Trees are getting leaves - not my favorite spring sign, the birch just yet, though. Willows are flowering. The other one of our apple trees is pushing buds. Won't be long and it is in full bloom!

Liverworts spotted

It must be spring. Birds are chirping, wood peckers are pecking and I've spotted the first liverworts :)

Flowers and butterflies

The warm spring days <3 We went to this dog park at Pitkäkoski today, and the day before too. There's a whole lot of hepaticas blooming in the forests there, and coltsfoot too. Trees are opening their leaves, though I'm still waiting on the birches... Catkins and pussy willows are seriously flowering. Today, I saw the first butterfly of the spring too - a bright yellow one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In our little garden, the chives are growing. And the first bumble bee here on our own yard, too.

 

The Vantaa river is flowing free, has been for quite some time and througout the winter at the rapids. But there is still some icy banks left in the shady areas.

 

Flowers and pussy willows

Pussy willows are starting to be beyond silky and cute, starting to turn into yellow pollen balls. Inevitable.

Flowers are popping up here and there, everywhere now. I noticed the first hepaticas in the forest and by the street a couple houses down, and there's some white flowers too, that resemble those other blue ones [edit. they are scilla sibericas].

 

The weather is still not too warm yet. Today it was +10C at best, but the wind was something quite horrid. It's been a game of rain and sun all day long, spring showers - even some ice balls at one point! - falling down every now and then. In the afternoon, the sky was covered in dark grey clouds, but by the evening and sunset, the sky was clear again.