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“The whites, yellows, and pale purples of early spring begin to fade, yet purple holds on, larger and more brilliant than before.” – Ed Lehming We have spent the past two weekends starting a fairly significant garden. As we worked, tilled, and planted a scene that we simply could not ignore was the profusion of deep purple Dame’s Rockets. The literally surround the one-acre garden plot (we did not plant the whole… Read More
“It was such a pleasure to sink one’s hands into the warm earth, to feel at one’s fingertips the possibilities of the new season.”― Kate Morton Now that the garden is starting to fill in, I find myself spending more time enjoying some of the simple blossoms that I often take for granted. Some of these, like the tiny lobelia often go unnoticed because they are so tiny, yet they add some beautiful… Read More
“Before my eyes was a sea of white stars, bright yellow anthers, and deep green foliage. With the warming air, summer can’t be far off now” – Ed Lehming The image that I selected today was made in my garden this afternoon. The subject: Star of Bethlehem, a beautiful perennial that I acquired a few years ago from my mother-in-law’s garden. When she downsized and moved to a condo I offered to… Read More
“I think I like spring the most. Everything is fresh and pristine, time and weather have not made their mark yet.” – Ed Lehming I believe this may be my final trillium image for the season, the air has suddenly turned hot and muggy and what was once pure and white will already have begun to deteriorate. The white petals will turn a pale magenta but the pristine beauty they displayed last… Read More
“The forest fills with fresh green growth, as the cycle of growth begins anew, and with it, the inevitable return of insects.” – Ed Lehming This image is now approaching a week old and represents the first solid growth of beech leaves in my area. On previous posts I have commented on the cool and dry spring we’ve had. Two weeks ago it snowed. Then seemingly overnight the temperature climbed into the… Read More
“Like a deep exhale, a flush of bright green, dotted with trilliums sweeps over the forest floor” – Ed Lehming It’s a remarkable event to see unfold, even over the span of a few days. A mere two weeks ago snow was falling in the forest, the air was chill and only a few hearty plants poked from the cold ground. Now the air has changed, the snow is a memory and… Read More
“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke It’s spring, and finally mild enough that it feels like spring, the gardens, which till now, have been waiting patiently for some warmth to stir life into them are now erupting with perennials. This is such a needed reprieve from the past weeks of of staying home and waiting for signs of life. I… Read More
“Always something new and interesting. Nature offers so many exciting possibilities” – Ed Lehming It’s time for the next wave of spring blossoms to make an appearance. I’ve been watching the little clump of leaves for the past few days, waiting for the blooms and was surprised to see blossoms already. It seems a few days of warmer weather makes a difference. Squirrel Corn is an interesting plant, related to Dutchman’s Breeches,… Read More
“One clear moment, one of trance One missed step, one perfect dance One missed shot, one and only chance Life is all…but one fleeting glance.” ― Sanober Khan Being literally surrounded by trilliums poses a challenge: they all look so lovely and so perfect. How do you present them differently. It’s so tempting when composing shots to photograph them straight on or slightly off-centre. They are just so lovely. There are literally thousands… Read More
“Deep healthy greens and bright yellow now fill the spaces once dull and drab. Spring opens her mantle to the world in a flourish of health and brightness.” – Ed Lehming A wonderful and much needed hike restored me once more. What started as a quest for trilliums offered so much more. The day was bright and warm; trilliums filled the forest floor like white beacons; the lime green flush of fresh… Read More
“Nature’s gifts are always fleeting. These moments must be savoured while we can, and then the moment is gone, leaving only fond memories and dreams for tomorrow.” – Ed Lehming Alas, the final days of the wake-robin are at hand. These flowers which have brought me so much joy this summer are fading fast, with only a few intact specimens remaining. What the sun has not dried and the wind and rain… Read More
“As the world opens to springtime, hunger is a constant.” – Ed Lehming All around me, the forest stirs to life, wildflowers open prompted by warmer days and sunshine and bees eagerly feed on the offered nectar. It’s not just bees, it’s every form of flying and crawling insect. Flowers and the forest floor are now teeming with life. As I was making photos of the trilliums, honeybees eagerly burrowed deep into… Read More
“The days warm and forest paths call me into the depths of nature, I am home again.” – Ed Lehming The forest floor is now flush with green and visible life returns once more. Thought the trees are still bare I can see a fine haze od green and yellow high above me. It will be mere days till the canopy forms anew. Narrow paths draw me forward to explore new places… Read More
“Never the same twice and endless possibilities, nature continues to surprise me.” – Ed Lehming Green Trilliums? Yes, I’ve seen them on a few occasions but there seems to be a high portion of them along the trails at North Walker Woods. The first time a saw these interesting variants of the white trillium I began studying them to understand why they look so different. It turns out that the green is… Read More
“There is something special about the first trillium of the year. As I walk the trails, I keep a keen eye open for this marvelous harbinger of spring, and when it see it, I know, warm days and beauty follow.” – Ed Lehming Here it is, the first white trillium of the year. The original was a ‘nice’ photo, but I was looking for more, something to personalize it this year. This… Read More
“As Trilliums fill my view, I take a deep breath and say farewell to winter.” – Ed Lehming It’s that time at last. After a seemingly endless, cool spring, the first white trilliums have begun to open. They are still small and a bit sparse but they are a very welcome sight indeed. Trilliums signal milder days ahead. They have been delayed by about a week, as days remained and dull. There… Read More
“Nature’s gatherings; nothing by chance; each with purpose” – Ed Lehming As I spend more time on the trails, more and more patterns become noticeable to me, what once seemed random, begins to fit into patterns. Such is the case with early spring blossoms, one follows the next in a steady, often cautious progression. It begins with the first few leaves unfurling from the forest litter of leaves, each plant slowly reaching… Read More
“All things change, it is inevitable, even the things that appear to be constants eventually pass into history. The cycles of time and nature cannot be stopped.” – Ed Lehming I’ve written a few times about the beauty of beech leaves in the dead of winter. As other leaves have long since fallen to the ground, these leaves cling to the branches with incredible tenacity and offer much needed brightness to otherwise… Read More
“Sometimes nature creates its own compositions, using what’s on hand, usually with wonderful results.” – Ed Lehming This is my second red trillium (wake-robin) photo, but I do like them so much. For those who have tried to photograph them, they tend to pose two challenges: first, red is difficult to expose properly against the greens and browns of the forest floor. Most images are overexposed or details are lost. Second, red… Read More
“Nature knows. Nature understands the cycles and adjusts.” – Ed Lehming I was out last Sunday, Mothers Day, hoping to see even one or two open White Trilliums, that was not to be on that chilly, sleet filled day. It felt more like March than May and was in sharp contrast to the previous Sunday which was mild and sunny. Last week was filled with so much promise and so many spring… Read More
“For no particular reason, the purity of Bloodroot blossoms brings a smile to my face.” – Ed Lehming I have found myself returning to Bloodroot blossoms for as long as they last, which is not long. Perhaps it’s this very brevity that makes them so appealing to me. They bloom spectacularly for a single day. By the next day they are withered or gone completely, dropping their petals as the shroud that… Read More
“Be a Mother who is committed to loving her children into standing on higher ground than the environment surrounding them. Mothers are endowed with a love that is unlike any other love on the face of the earth.” ― Marjorie Hinckley Mothers do not have it easy. They endure things that would make many give up, they weather the storm and are there for us when we need them, even if we don’t… Read More
“Alien yet familiar, careful observation shows us things we had not expected.” – Ed Lehming Blue Cohosh is one of the first wildflowers that made me begin to better understand the natural environment around me. When I started spending more deliberate time in the forest, starting to see it as a participant rather than a casual observer, I could not help but notice this purple-blue plants that emerge with the rest of… Read More
“After a long winter, spring flowers offer much-needed cheer to our lives.” – Ed Lehming Honestly, I don’t get tired of these lovely spring blossoms and their variations. The hepatica I have observed over the years go from pure white to shades of pink and purple, I suspect driven by the various minerals in the soil. This year they seemed to bloom a bit early and I was very surprised to see… Read More
“The intricate details in nature are a thing to behold. The closer you look, the more wonderful those details become.” – Ed Lehming For me, trout lilies mean spring is in full swing. The ground and air have warmed enough that these wonderful little flowers open up; one or two scattered randomly at first and then a profusion of yellow splashes seemingly everywhere. The more I observe them the more subtle differences… Read More
“Small and delicate does not infer weakness, there is tremendous resolve to flourish in even the most tender of things.” – Ed Lehming I’m always intrigued by scenes like this, delicate flowers or leaves that have found a hole in a leaf and then pry the hole hider as they grow. There seems to be no stopping them. In this case, a Bloodroot blossom is opened up after pushing its way through… Read More
“Pink whispers softly of love” – Ed Lehming I realize that I have shifted my photographs from abstracts and forest paths but I’m finding that most of us are in desperate need of some brightness and what better way than flowers? With all the anxiety and bad news we are surrounded with, I’m hoping that by sharing some of my own blossoms that I can bring some joy to others. Today’s selection… Read More
“In nature, all things come in their prescribed time. Nature delays deliberately, without explanation. In time, we see the reasons and they seem obvious.” – Ed Lehming I think my perspective this spring is highly influenced by the current global COVID-19 pandemic. I live in Ontario, Canada and our provincial flower is the trillium, so I’m seeing a great analogy to the province ‘opening up’ the economy. There are lots of trilliums… Read More
“It’s often surprising that the seemingly delicate has unseen strength and resilience” – Ed Lehming Spring Beauties (Claytonia virginica) never cease to astound me. They are among the very first spring blossoms to open up, long before trilliums and other ephemerals. They bloom in even frosty conditions. I expect this has something to do with their diminutive size, which is not apparent in the photo, where I was trying to capture the… Read More
“It is hard to be defensive toward a danger which you have never imagined existed.” ― John Christopher It is indeed interesting watching this year’s spring emergence of wildflowers. Some, like the Hepatica pictured above, are designed to weather the uncertainties of spring. The many tiny hairs on the delicate new blossom protect the plant from spring frosts by providing a layer of insulation. I also noticed that plants this spring seem a… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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