Having a Good Friday

I'm proud of myself!  I rescued "Sweet Winter" from its less-than-benign-neglect and worked on it last night.  As you know I'm having issues with the whole "over one" thing...unnecessarily perhaps.  The stitching went very well. I finished up the alphabet, the numbers, and the swans are almost done too.  A couple more flowers to finish up and the flower pot - maybe I'll be finished with Winter before Summer begins!  

A Contemplative Walk is a nice way to observe Good Friday. 

Let's look at trees and shrubs...

I found the combination of moss and bark on this Ash tree to be beautiful in its own right.  The Ash on our property are some of the last trees to get their leaves in the Spring, and the first to loose them in the Fall.

Chartreuse is an early Spring color and the towering Cottonwoods down the Dorothy's Creek fit the bill.  In May we will be awash with clouds of white Cottonwood seeds.

American Pussy Willow - Salix discolor

 Before the male catkins of these species come into full flower they are covered in fine, grayish fur, leading to a fancied likeness to tiny cats, also known as "pussies". The catkins appear long before the leaves, and are one of the earliest signs of spring.  These have been out now for several weeks.

The flowers and new buds of a Big Leafed Maple - once again chartreuse is the color of choice!

And I love the combination of bright pink and green on the new growth of the Vine Maple - Acer circinatum .  Lots of people (including foresters) consider Vine Maple a pest as it grows in the understory of much taller forest trees.  But my Grandmother (the daughter and wife of loggers) asked the men in her family to bring her bouquets of Vine Maple. In the fall the leaves turn a brilliant array of autumnal colors. 

And this is Dorothy's Creek - it provides the moisture needed by the Ash and the Cottonwoods.