“Opening ferns in spring remind me of that first stretch when waking up. You can almost hear them yawning after their long rest”
– Ed Lehming

It’s a joy to watch the grand opening of the forest, that time of year that we have named spring. The plants seem to be in a race to see which one can reach the highest, the fastest. Ferns are no exception to this.

For the past few days, the ferns have been small knobs on the ground waiting for the sunshine to warm the ground enough to signal them to start growing. The knobs soon expand into their ‘fiddlehead’ stage where they seem to pause once more, still close to the ground and shelter of the layer of fallen leaves; it seems like they are waiting for signs of frost to disappear, protecting the delicate leaves from freezing.

Then, suddenly, they begin to stretch up and unroll, the once tight fiddleheads riding atop ever expanding stems. In this image, the leaves within the fiddleheads are clearly visible and are just about to open. Within the next few days they will expand to their full size, drinking in the sunshine and adding more greenery to the lush forest floor.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/160 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200

For more images like this, please visit my website (images are available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com