Notre Dame from the bridge of locks

Notre Dame from the bridge of locks, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Paris - the city of love. I always thought that was a cliché, but it seems to be accurate. There are so many lovers, kissing, cuddling, and, at this particular bridge, expressing their love via padlocks inscribed with their names.

Waiting for "Mom"

Waiting for "Mom", a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Yes, they have dogs in Paris, too.....

OSU Titan Arum

OSU Titan Arum, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Woody bloomed again! First bloom was April 25, 2011. The spathe started to unfurl beginning around noon yesterday, and was fully expanded about 12 hr later. The height was about 2 m.

Columbine

Columbine, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Aquilegia canadensis - in full bloom at Magee Marsh. Yesterday we did our annual pilgrimage to Magee Marsh. Yes, I loved the warblers, but this lovely columbine caught my eye as well.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.0-5.6 L; 1/80, f/9, ISO 400, 400 mm

Penstemon virgatus

Penstemon virgatus, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

I've been working on updating my "News from the Wolfe Lab" website, which means that I've been going through my photography archive to find images of Penstemon. For many various reasons, I've not processed my backlog of photos from 2009 onwards. I'm starting to catch up a bit, but it will be a long time before I get through the entire archive. However, here's a photo from the 2012 American Penstemon Society field meeting in Wyoming.

Spring ephermeral series - something in Brassicaceae.

Spring ephermeral series - something in Brassicaceae., a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

I need to look up the identification stuff on this delicate mustard family plant. I love the subtle shading on the corolla. This was at Blendon Woods, April 27, 2013.

Spring Beauty

Spring Beauty, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Claytonia virginica, I think. I'm not sure what species of Claytonia occur in Ohio, though. This was from my walk last weekend at Blendon Woods Metro Park.

Les Fleurs Jaunes

Les Fleurs Jaunes, a photo by Stephen A. Wolfe on Flickr.

Steve took this lovely photo of our front garden. During spring, the front yard is a riot of color, and I love coming home to the view.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Look who's back? I love it when the grosbeaks make it back to central Ohio during the spring migration. We always have a few in the yard for several days, and then we don't see them until fall as they move south again. There have been several visiting our feeders the past day or so. This one was very cooperative, placing himself in the sun and waiting for me to get my big lens on the camera.

Details: Canon 5D Mark III, EF 100-400 mm f/4 L, 1/125, f/8, ISO 500, 400 mm

Phlox

Phlox, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

This is one of the species of Phlox seen in central Ohio. I don't know the species - if anyone can help me out, please comment on this post.

This was spotted along a trail at Blendon Woods Metro Park last weekend.

Dutchman's breeches

Dutchman's breeches, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Blendon Woods - Dicentra cucullaria (Fumariaceae) - last of the blooms this weekend. By next weekend they will all be gone.

Steve and I did a short walk yesterday morning - allegedly to look for warblers. My ulterior motive was to seek out some of the spring ephemerals. I found one plant of Dicentra cucullaria with some good flowers still in bloom. I think I was very lucky to find these tucked away behind a large tree.

Milkweed seed awaiting flight

Milkweed seed awaiting flight, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Steve and I did our Sunday afternoon walk along the Olentangy bike path. The river level has lowered, nearly to normal, since last week. All the lovely ephemerals from last week are mostly gone, but the trees are in bloom, the violets are abundant, and I found some Dutchman's breeches in their last bit of display.

This is a milkweed pod, dispersing its seeds. I well remember catching these little gems when I was a kid. You are suppose to make a wish and let it fly away again. My wish for today is that we could see some of those good old days when there were no terrorist attacks with IEDs, government actually governed, people cared about watching out for those in need, etc., etc. Fly away little seeds. Grow into lovely flowers to brighten some future day.

Along the Olentangy

Along the Olentangy, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

From last weekend, when the weather was lovely. We had a freeze last night, so it will be interesting to see what the flowers are like this afternoon.  This is Cardamine concatenata (Brassicaceae) - cut-leaved toothwort.

White Trout Lily

White Trout Lily, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

Another of our beautiful spring ephemerals: Erythronium albidum. The Olentangy bike path between Lane Avenue and the OSU wetlands is going to be spectacular in a few days as the patches of these wildflowers come into bloom.

Wood Hyacinth

Wood Hyacinth, a photo by andiwolfe on Flickr.

The spring ephemerals are one of the highlights of central Ohio. The flowers bloom before the tree canopy fills out, taking advantage of the early spring sunlight. For some of these small gems, you have to look for flashes of color amongst the dull browns of the leaf litter.