Today was just a really nice day outside. The sun was out, it was warm but not too warm. 
The birds were chirping, flowers were blooming, the smell of pollen was in the air, the neighbor was mowing his lawn and the light lingered just a little longer in the evening sky. All signs that Spring is approaching.
I saw this flower in our front yard and wondered what it must look like from the perspective of an ant. So I tucked my Canon S90 underneath it and shot straight up. I like this unique perspective.
I think Spring is one of the best seasons. The sky starts to appear brighter, the days are longer, temperatures are generally warmer (although I remember some years when we have had snow into April), flowers and trees are blooming, and the kids are getting back into outdoor sports.
I hate to admit it but the last several years I have not gone out and shot the blooming mountain wild flowers. This year I plan on doing that and will be taking time off from work to make sure of it. One thing I’ve always dreamed of doing is to take wild flower photos in Death Valley. My guess is that with all the rain that Southern California has received this year the wild flowers should be good this year. The thing is, you never really know when the peak bloom is going to be so you just have to play it by ear and wait for the reports online and then make a break for it.
I’m hoping this will be a good year for Oregon as well.
Warning: Declaration of Social_Walker_Comment::start_lvl(&$output, $depth, $args) should be compatible with Walker_Comment::start_lvl(&$output, $depth = 0, $args = Array) in /homepages/2/d197878885/htdocs/mattkphoto/wp-content/plugins/social/lib/social/walker/comment.php on line 18
Warning: Declaration of Social_Walker_Comment::end_lvl(&$output, $depth, $args) should be compatible with Walker_Comment::end_lvl(&$output, $depth = 0, $args = Array) in /homepages/2/d197878885/htdocs/mattkphoto/wp-content/plugins/social/lib/social/walker/comment.php on line 42
Yesterday a friend hiked the Cloverpatch trail west of Westfir. There were quite a few wildflowers that had just begun blooming or soon would be. Probably the most spectacular are the Crocidium’s or “spring gold”. They were blanketing some hillsides. There are a series of steep meadows as the trail progresses up the mountainside looking down on Lookout Point reservoir. They will be loaded with wildflowers later this month and into April.
With our low Cascades snow pack and below average rainfall, this might not be a banner year for mountain wildflowers with meadows drying out earlier than normal. I hope I’m wrong however!
@Tracker – I’m going to have to schedule some time off later this month and go do some shooting.