In bloom...

The flu kept me home this Easter Sunday. Dave headed off to his sister's house for the family gathering, and I settled down with my hand quilting. The sun came out, the birds were singing, and I was restless. So I took my camera out for one last look at the late winter blooms.

The bird feeders were crowded, including a pair of Evening Grosbeaks who showed up on Friday and must have liked what they saw. We've never seen this bird on the farm before... maybe it was the black oil sunflower seeds I put out on Friday morning. It's reportedly their favorite. If you've never seen them before either, you can see photographs here. I've not been able to get a shot yet, but if they stick around to raise babies, I may get my chance.

On a photography blog I saw a great idea for photographing Hellebore plants:  cut the blooms and float them in a bowl of water. I pulled out one of my yellow ware bowls and gave it a try. Love the look. Next year I'll do this again when they first bloom. I have one plant that starts out pale greenish lavender, and ends up dark purple, and the two stages together would be beautiful.

One of our oldest shrubs, hidden behind the rhododendrons for years, is a Valley Rose (Pieris japonica). The soft rose pink blooms are turning white and brown and are definitely on their last legs, but they're still beautiful.

I hope your Sunday was wonderful.