Garden of the Seasons: New Light in April

          When the weather cleared last week, and warmed a bit, one day the sunlight lasted until late afternoon and the special late light of the golden hour found something in the garden to shine on. The green leaf-blades of the daffodils had shot up, and were joined by a few yellow flower heads. Stems on returning perennials that did not yet show a leaf were reddening with early plans, inklings of a new season. One day they too would make green stuff.

            And the buds were appearing on the cherry tree (second to last photo). It was not yet cherry blossom time in eastern Massachusetts. That would come this week.

            The bare limbs of the dogwood shrub are poking up to the umbrella-like crown (second photo). They are red when the leaves fall in November. And now they are red again.

            Both irises and daylilies get an early start with the vertical, sun-seeking leaves (third photo). The irises have sword-like bends.

            A few days later a truly strange woodpecker, called the Common Northern Flicker (bottom photo) showed up. It's not common to my experience. It's plump as a pigeon, and about a foot long. I thought it might be some immature woodland fowl, a kind of pheasant or woodcock.

            But no, the flicker.  

            As the photo shows, I had only begun to clear the leaves when it arrived.  

            Since then the daffodils have all begun to bloom (fifth photo). And the hyacinths (fourth), which had been poking along without much color began brighten their areas.

            And the buds of a maple tree (sixth), bringer of summer shade, opened a red canopy over the place where we park the car. They hang like that for about a week. Most of them are lying on the pavement now, after a daylong rain on Wednesday. 

            It's raining again today. These are the rains that will green things up in a hurry.

           Every day is different.