April 21 - Coming Alive

 April 21. The day dawned sunny, clear, and warmer. If you consider 32 warmer. Still, that's better than it has been.  With clear skies and sunshine all day, it does feel like spring.  The high today was about 55.

 I noticed yesterday that the aspens in some sunny areas are starting to flower... Pretty soon, they will be covered in the most brilliant spring green leaves you can imagine.   Right now, it is more like grayish fuzzy flower buds. This is not my photo, I borrowed this from an audubon website so you can see what the flowers look like.  I'm going to mark yesterday as the first day I saw flowers, as that's when I first noticed them, but did not have my camera.  Like everything else in nature, family groups vary.  Some aspen are flowering, some are not.  Some groups on the same hillside are at different stages, leading me to believe that
genetics plays a part in flowering time, just as it does in other aspects of growth.  

I banged up my knee yesterday when I tripped and landed on a rock, so I can't wander too far... just when things are getting good too.  So I had to stick closer to home.

 The rhubard that I thought was dead, is starting to bud! yay!

My sad little patch of daffodils is finally beginning to flower. I don't know why they don't grow well here. Daffodils grow just about ANYwhere.   Even these few small flowers bring joy, with their brilliant clear yellow trumpets.

 The baby chicks have gotten so big, they can now go outside.  I had to get them out of the studio...They are much happier out here, in their little nursery pen.  I made a temporary divider in the run to keep the older hens from pecking at them.

Look at baby Elroy the rooster! He already looks like a rooster!   I guess they are about 5 weeks old now.

Hopefully, this banged up knee will be better soon, and I can wander in the spring forest, now that things are really beginning to bud, and  take some photos...