Archives
“March teased and taunted with hints of spring, but ended with a reminder that nature is in command, not the calendar, as warm rains turned to sleet and snow” – Ed Lehming It has been a very odd March, a very odd March indeed. The month started out as many Marches do in this area: with lengthening days interspersed with snow storms and sunshine as the weather patterns swing towards milder days,… Read More
“I miss your fragrance, sometimes I miss it this much that I can clearly smell you in the air.” ― Qaisar Iqbal Janjua Just in time for the last day of May. This has been a very delayed year for many of our spring flowers, here in Ontario. These just started blooming last week and I was happy to see a few remained for me to photograph. The fragrance of lily of the… Read More
“Time moves forward don’t live backwards” ― E’yen A. Gardner Spring, that time of year when the Earth groans and stretches after a winter slumber. Freshness is everywhere and the forest is transformed as branches begin to fill with fresh green leaves. Buds open and expand their contents to the sun, reaching for nourishment. This ‘greening’ only seems to last a few days and the forest is a soft canvas of greens and… Read More
“Even the tiniest of flowers can have the toughest roots.” ― Shannon Mullen Wildflowers constantly amaze me, in their endless forms and the environments they thrive it. The columbine above, is a native to Ontario and this particular plant was growing from a thin crack in the bedrock. I suppose there was just enough organic mater accumulated in that crack to create the rich soil the columbine prefers and a seed from nearby… Read More
“If only these treasures were not so fragile as they are precious and beautiful.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I find myself surveying my gardens, as the cycle of spring takes a firm hold. Tulips and daffodils are now dried remnants, these once beautiful ‘first’ colours. They welcomed the first few mild days with their bright faces and filled our sense of smell with their sweet fragrance. Now, the next wave of flowers… Read More
“Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden.” ― Cormac McCarthy It’s not often that I revisit a subject, especially a flower. However, I felt this one needed to be viewed a bit closer in a slightly different composition. So, here it is. The slightly different angle even changed the title for me. I see more of the ‘fire’ in this lovely tulip than I had before. I find it interesting… Read More
“With brightness and purity like the snow which so recently trapped it, the trillium remembers winter while signalling spring” – Ed Lehming Though I posted a photo of a newly blossomed trillium a few weeks ago, the trilliums in Eastern Ontario, Bancroft, to be more specific, are a bit delayed. Warm air did not arrive here until recently, and with the warm air, new life and growth. Though there is still frost… Read More
“Gentle spring waves wash high upon the shore, drenching the land with moisture and restoring life, winter is at an end.” – Ed Lehming A few short weeks ago, Marble Lake was still ice covered and winter ruled, refusing to relinquish its hold on the land. A deep freeze and late snowfall meant frost remained locked into the ground, blocking the flow of melt water, channeling it on new courses. The ice… Read More
“Her blush was the color of a coral reef, but smooth.” ― Aimee Bender I simply love the many muted colours of spring. Understated blues, yellows, purples, and oranges, all make their appearance in the garden. Yet pink, as pale as a blush’s beginning appeals to me most. There is a natural softness to this colour, especially on these blossoms which move from a bright and warm yellow, through white and then terminate… Read More
“She smells fresh, like the shadow under trees.” ― Julio Cortázar The freshness of spring, among my favourite things. And with that freshness, the scents of spring, fresh-cut grass, tilled earth, and the flowers opening to the warm sun above. As well, the ferns have a unique aroma, which is quite noticeable when there are many plants. Yet, even in the shadows, fresh life emerges. From the cool recesses of the forest floor,… Read More
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien I’ve always loved this Tolkien quote, and I’ve now found an image to pair it with. Given all the dark news we hear about in our world, the brightness and beauty… Read More
“The world would be a brighter, happier place, if we could only remember our childhood wonder.” ― P.J. Roscoe Mothers Day, birthdays, and anniversaries, all fill my Mays with great cheer. And thus, they also fill my house with flowers, which must be photographed. With several changes in my family the past year, the most significant being the birth of my first grandson a mere two weeks ago, I’ve had to repurpose my… Read More
“Shine brightly, so you can help those who have not found their path a way through the darkness.” ― Jeffrey Fry It would simply not feel like spring without Trout Lilies. These delicate little beauties are often slow to come to bloom, but not this year. Within days they went from delicate foliage to full bloom. Whole sections of the forest were filled with theses beautiful yellow flowers and it was hard to… Read More
“Memories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly. But I don’t go along with that. The memories I value most, I don’t ever see them fading.” ― Kazuo IshiguroWithin the bounty of new spring growth, reminders of last year still linger along the trails. This Queen Anne’s Lace seed-head, once filled with seeds is now ‘spent’, it’s purpose fulfilled, yet it stands, dried and brown above the lush and greening meadow. While… Read More
“All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways.” ― Yann Martel I’m sure nature had some specific design in mind when these oddly shaped flowers evolved. What that the purpose of that design is remains a mystery to me. The one advantage of the unique appearance of these spring bloomers is that they are very easy to identify. Once again, the rapid onset of spring… Read More
“I hate and fear snakes, because if you look into the eyes of any snake you will see that it knows all and more of the mystery of man’s fall, and that it feels all the contempt that the Devil felt when Adam was evicted from Eden. ― Rudyard Kipling Unlike Kipling, I have a strange yet respectful fascination with the snakes I encounter on my many hikes. None of the snakes in… Read More
“Living in the present moment is the recurring baptism of the soul, forever purifying every new day with a new you.” ― Alaric Hutchinson And there it was , white, pure, radiant, and completely unexpected. The first trillium the season completely surprised me. From all my time spend in the forest, the steady rhythms of nature have become my own rhythms, a steady progression through time and season. As I entered the forest… Read More
“Change is the end of something you know and the beginning of something else that you don’t know. Something new that holds opportunities.” ― Kholoud Yasser I believe I enjoy spring almost as much as autumn. While autumn is filled with brilliant colours, it is also a sort of ending, as the colours gradually fade and the world prepares for a winter sleep. Spring, on the other hand, is also filled with colours,… Read More
“Ugly or beautiful, it is the little creatures that make the world go round. We should celebrate and appreciated them in all their wonderful diversity.” ― Dave Goulson Inevitably, if you make enough images of flowers outdoors, nature dictates that a bug will be in one of those images. That was the case last weekend, as I was photographing the many beautiful hepaticas that had just started blooming. Just as I was about… Read More
“The places of quiet are going away, the churches, the woods, the libraries. And it is only in silence we can hear the voice inside of us which gives us true peace.” ― James Rozoff There is peace in the forest, a peace that I dearly need in this busy world. In the forest, I can participate in the natural cycles, I can anticipate the next species of wildflower to bloom, or to… Read More
“Are you tired? Are you feeling that you will not be able to reach your destination? Then all you have to remember is that those who reached their far and hard destinations also felt the same way on their way! Knowing what others felt will give you a great power to complete your journey!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan I was looking for a suitable quote for this image and Mehmet always seems to… Read More
“It’s the nameless who leave a vestige in their wake.” ― Anthony T. Hincks Spring, and as the wildflowers emerge from their winter’s rest, the survivors of the winter elements still cling tenaciously to their branches. The beach leaves, which have provided such wonderful hints of colour throughout the bitter, gray, winter months, are now showing the ravages of the season. Leaves once bright yellow and copper, hang from the slender branches as… Read More
“It would seem from this fact, that man is naturally a wild animal, and that when taken from the woods, he is never happy in his natural state, ’till he returns to them again.” ― Benjamin Rush I am happy to be returning to the forest, which I’m never really away from for long. However, weather and work, have teamed up to make my brief forays into the local forest quite difficult. So,… Read More
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” ― Anne Bradstreet As I mentioned in my previous post, the beginning of spring was more like an extended winter. It was the kind of year where you wonder if it will ever warm up, but it eventually does. But, spring proper, has been delayed. As I… Read More
“I know it is difficult to believe in your own courage or fortitude when everything inside of you feels weak and shattered. But do not believe what you feel. You will not be easily broken.” ― Rachel L. Schade This has been a brutal start to spring. April, as you may have noticed from my lack of photos, has presented my with conditions that were just plain dangerous or miserable to be outdoors… Read More
“Home is where you go to find solace from the ever changing chaos, to find love within the confines of a heartless world, and to be reminded that no matter how far you wander, there will always be something waiting when you return.” ― Kendal Rob “The Return” The return of migratory birds and the return of spring. Two things that go together nicely. Here we stand, on the cusp of spring, recent… Read More
“And this is how the forest changes, one step, one day, one moment at a time. ” ― Ed Lehming The time of change is at my doorstep. Though flurries still fill the air from time to time, the inevitable change is palpable. Paths once completely ice covered are now more passable. Mud and leaves fill the spaces between, and the ice slowly recedes. Even the evergreens are a bit brighter, as the sun… Read More
Winter hung in there, like an invalid refusing to die. Day after grey day the ice stayed hard; the world remained unfriendly and cold.” ― Neil Gaiman Contrary to the quote that I chose for this image, with the lengthening days and a few days of sunshine, winter is beginning to loosen its icy grip on the forest. The patches of ice and snow are retreating and the dull browns and yellows of… Read More
May you understand my love–because it is the only thing I have that is really mine, the only thing that I will be able to take with me into the next life. Please allow it to be courageous and pure; please make it capable of surviving the snares of the world.” ― Paulo Coelho A simple title that describes my first impressions of this single, rain speckled, white peony blossom. Yesterday rained… Read More
“It’s so curious: one can resist tears and ‘behave’ very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer… and everything collapses. ” ― Colette Here’s an assemblage of several of the peonies I’ve shared over the past few days, placed… Read More
Ed Lehming Photography 
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