Saturday, April 3, 2010

Happy Easter!

I remember so many Easters when I was a little girl, when I had to cover my pretty new dress with a winter coat, and pull snow boots over my patent-leather Mary Janes. This year, with the weather so warm and sunny, little girls can parade their pretty new dresses without so much as a sweater to dim their glory. Mother Earth is putting on her Easter finery, too, with Hepaticas colored as pretty as Easter eggs.



English Violets are resplendent in deep, deep purple and as fragrant as Easter lilies.




The Trout Lily leaves popped up overnight, arising as if miraculously from their tomb of dead foliage.



This Garter Snake was enjoying the summer-like warmth. (I know that snakes have a bad reputation in Jewish and Christian narratives, but some other religions considered them a symbol of resurrection because of their habit of shedding their skins.)



Dainty little Hairy Bittercress flowers have opened, their four white petals revealing why their taxonomic family is called Cruciferae, which means "cross-shaped." Actually, these petals aren't very cross-like, but look, each pistil appears to be wearing a halo!



I can't think of an Easter association to make for Red-berried Elder. I just thought its buds were beautiful.

I'm off to my daughter's in Westchester County tomorrow, to share the holiday with all my children and grandchildren. We'll stay downstate until Wednesday, hoping to visit New York and some of its museums. Would you believe, I've never been to the Natural History Museum? I hope to remedy that soon.

Happy Easter to all!

3 comments:

Genny said...

Happy Easter to you! Love your photos.

Caroline said...

Your pictures are like a trip home...I grew up in the Adirondacks/Lake Champlain area (Plattsburgh). It is such fun to see the familiar wildflowers of spring, the ones here on the prairie and Hills of South Dakota are equally pretty, just not home. :o)

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

Hello Genny and Caroline. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your kind comments. It's appreciative folks like you who make it so much fun to do this blog.