have you ever looked inside a magnolia blossom?

If not, you should. There’s been a riotous magnolia goodness going on around here lately…

today.

To back up…

A few days ago, they were just starting to open up.

It didn’t occur to me to peer inside until May 9th. This, I love. It’s like a crazy Venetian glassblower went to work for Willy Wonka. Or a sea anemone decided to go arboreal. Or something.

A couple of days later, this happened. Another laugh-out-loud moment. I remember reading a review of a film adaptation of one of Jane Austen’s novels. The writer told of how she saw a girl on the subway reading “Emma”, and she asked, “first time?” The girl said “yes”, and the author smiled with nostalgia. Oh, to be reading “Emma” for the first time!

…That’s how I’m going to feel about magnolia blossoms from here on out. I’ll never stop being delighted by them, but I now know what to expect…a divine explosion of loveliness. Now you can see the pollen is being deposited where needed. I keep seeing bugs in them – I’m going with “ants”, as for now, I’m not into bug ID. There’s only so much I can fit into my wee little brain.

happy sigh!

Today’s post comes to you courtesy of the trip to the mailbox, via the mystery woodland. The air in the mystery woodland is dancing with blackflies, and I’m pleased to report I have two of their bites on my face. The sacrifices I make for you, I swear… I just had to go in the woods, though: I was in search of jack-in-the-pulpit. We have two kinds – blond and brunette, for lack of a better term.

Here’s one.

And here’s another – right on the side of the shared drive, and easily overlooked. Just for comparison, here’s one of the blondes:

Moving right along, I found a new flower yesterday. At first I thought it was miterwort – same leaf shape, a tall raceme of white flowers. But no, my friends: we have an imposter.

False miterwort, aka foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)

PLUS, I have news on the false Solomon’s seal front. (Maianthemum racemosum)

the overall plant and…peering at the bits hidden under the last set of leaves…

not-yet-ready-for-prime-time flowers. If you want to skip ahead and see what these will look like mid-summer, have a look here.

Gratuitous stream shot.

Wanna know what the best part was? I finally thought to look up.

An oriole! My very first picture of an oriole! He kept flitting around.

I got another decent-ish shot of him a few seconds later in a different tree.

Editor’s Note: This is the post that got away from me: I tried to upload it on Thursday, May 12, but Blogger was down – so no luck. In Real Life, it’s cold and drizzly and I’m wearing two sweaters and the magnolia is already dropping its blossoms.