more time-lapse bud stuff

I neglected my loyal readership over the weekend because Best Beloved and I were being – brace yourselves – social. Stunning news, I know. But seriously. Kevin’s classmates from the School for International Training were having a reunion. Out of a group of 45, about a dozen came together for a weekend of laughter and beer. Or vice versa. Folks came from as far away as Serbia, Haiti, and Spain.
On Sunday, while Kevin enjoyed brunch with his buddies, I took myself for a 12 mile run. It was blissful – shockingly blue sky, about 40 degrees, and reasonably dry roads. With my every-eight-minutes mini-walking breaks, I averaged a 10:42 pace. The actual running bits were mostly between 9:30 and 9:45 minute miles. For a pretty hilly course, I’d say I did pretty well – right where I want to be. How I ever managed without a Garmin to remind me when to take my walking breaks, I’ll never know. Forty more days to go til the next half marathon.
On Monday, it snowed, melting about as fast as it landed. Such weather tends to bring out the nap fairies and short term memory loss. Today isn’t much better – I’ve got a case of the cold drizzlies. Blegh. I made myself go outside with the camera and here’s the full report:

This is grainy because I cropped and zoomed it. The internet tells me this is a junco. There were a bunch of them, along with a bunch of LBJ’s*, hopping around in the driveway. When I went outside, a certain Miss Maggie came with me, and the birds scattered. This one, safely far way in the fire pit, remained.

Witch hazel flowers and buds. No news here.

I have been tracking this one particular ash sapling. Alas, it is more closed up than the last time I checked. Rats!

Reflection in the biggest of the puddles. I warned you it was dreary today, right?

The temporary lawn tributary to the brook that feeds our pond is in full waterfall mode.

This patch of land will be screaming with Jack-in-the-pulpits in the early summer. It’s just a desolate spongy mess for now, though.

I’m pretty sure this is a buckthorn. It also like witch hazel – naked buds (e.g., the buds don’t have overlapping scales), there are three bundle scars…but the twig and indeed the whole body of the tree is gray with white speckles, which is a buckthorn trait.... Stay tuned, I guess.

OK, we’re heading out into the field.

Snow melt. Yes, I like to pretend I’m a giant, and this is a huge cliff, and those horizontal striations are geological formations. Humor me.

This water will almost certainly be gone come summer – the full body of the pond is in the distance, past the row of alder and cattails.

While I prowled along the edge of the field, a red-winged blackbird serenaded me.

And now, for the fun part – the alder buds are popping! The great thing about watching tree buds open is that because they don’t go all at once, you can see every stage of the process – like super slow-motion time-lapse photography.

Ahhhh, this makes me so happy. Another 20 or 30 degrees additional warmth would make me even happier.

Alas, it is not meant to be. Not yet.

*LBJ: Little Brown Job. A well-known ornithological term.