first clear day in weeks
butterflies walk slowly over
the dry forest floor
interrupted ferns’
delicate tips are still clenched
against the cold
in the cold wind
a gnat clings to a bobbing
pink lady’s-slipper
tent caterpillars
the vernal pond quakes under
a coat of leaf-pieces
oak apple gall
I bend down for a closer look
such a fresh green globe
The first two photos are from last week; the others are from yesterday evening.
Lovely! What a cool name for a fern – ‘interrupted’!
Loved these — thank you!
Glad you liked! Marja-Leena, I have a close-up of the sporangia-bearing pinnae on that same clump of ferns here.
Especially love the tent caterpillar confetti.
I can’t believe you are getting lady slippers so early. Actually, given your deer population, I can’t believe you are getting lady slippers at all. Is this in your “exclosure?”
Actually, they’re right on time. We’ve always had a lot of them, even when our deer numbers were at their height, but they’ve really proliferated as the herd has dwindled. One finds a few nipped blossoms, but I don’t think they’re very tasty.
Nature can look so strange and pretty.
I like the new look of your blog very much!
Thanks. I keep making minor tweaks to the site, but I don’t anticipate any major changes for a while.
The Ladies Slipper is Prince Edward Island’s provincial flower. You’ve captured this one well.
I love this post… the poetry compliments the photos well.