Full moon.

Posted on May 2, 2015 by luckyotter

I had to take a photo of it.

Click photo to enlarge.

Japanese maple in bloom.

Posted on April 28, 2015 by luckyotter

Click to enlarge photos.

The progression of spring: April 25th

Posted on April 26, 2015 by luckyotter

I’m doing this a day early because the weather was so gorgeous today and who knows about tomorrow. One day doesn’t make a big difference, so here’s this week’s photos.
It’s starting to look a lot like early summer for the most part.

The same neon green field I thought was so trippy looking one month ago. Now with everything else green too, it looks less weird but is just as green.

The same field from another angle. In the distance cows are grazing. Both these photos were actually taken on 4/23. I cheated.

Taken around 11 AM today in front of the post office.

The same location as the March 8th and March 29th photos.

Previous posts in this series:
1. Winter into Spring: March 8th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/03/08/winter-into-spring/
The Progression of Spring:
2. March 15th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/03/15/the-progression-of-spring-march-15th/
3. March 22nd: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/03/22/the-progression-of-spring-march-22/
4. March 29th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/03/30/the-progression-of-spring-march-29/
5. April 5th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/04/05/progression-of-spring-april-5th/
6. April 12th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/04/12/the-progression-of-spring-april-12th/
7. April 20th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/04/20/the-progression-of-spring-april-20th/

The progression of spring: April 20th

Posted on April 20, 2015 by luckyotter

On-again off-again rain all day today, but more sunshine than yesterday. This past week, the green has exploded and it’s starting to look more like early summer than it did just a week ago. Only the tallest trees (and those at high elevations on the mountaintops some of which are STILL almost bare) are still not really green yet. I was given some bulbs today that I’ll plant tomorrow probably. I don’t know what kind of bulbs they are!

These two photos were taken from my house, looking across the road.

Approaching thunderstorm.

Posted on April 18, 2015 by luckyotter

The first one of the season!

Click photos to enlarge.

Springtime Pond.

Posted on April 17, 2015 by luckyotter

Click photo to enlarge.

Every day I seem to find something new to photograph. I saw this lovely pond today. There were honking geese there too, but I wasn’t able to get a photo of them.

Whenever I see a scene like this, I can’t help thinking about Narcissus meeting his end in a setting very much like this one.

I love this time of year so much, and there’s no better place than western North Carolina to see all the small miracles happening every day in Nature’s march toward summer.

Dogwoods in bloom.

Posted on April 16, 2015 by luckyotter

I snapped these photos of a flowering dogwood near my home today. Dogwoods–actually a shrub, not a tree–are a common sight in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains and are so well known their beautiful four-petaled white blooms are the North Carolina state flower.

Click the images for more detail. (The closeup is a little blurry–sorry about that).

Spring is just autumn in reverse!

Posted on April 14, 2015 by luckyotter

October or April?
Photo credit: Deer browsing in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park courtesy of SmokyPhotos.com

I have noticed this too, especially this year because of the weekly “Progression of Spring” series I’ve been doing. It seems to be one of those things people just never take the time to notice. The “fall” colors are more muted, but they’re there.

Spring is Just Autumn in Reverse
By Richard Weisser

When we think of spring and photography, we usually think about all of the wonderful and colorful blooms that burst forth in our neighborhood. It is truly beautiful and I take as many photos of flowers in spring as I can.

But some years back, I also noticed that trees had a unique quality during the leafing process. As they initially set their seeds, they assume autumn-like hues for a very short period of time.

They can appear red, orange and yellow with a translucent quality that is very conducive to photography. The film photograph in this article, which appears at first glance to be taken in October, was actually taken in April 2000!

So while you’re out getting your spring flower photographs, why not take a second look at the trees?

After all, they only change colors TWICE a year!