Evidence of spring

Not that you really needed visual evidence spring has arrived ...

I like to get out at least once each spring -- before the blooms on the flowering trees have been blow to smithereens -- and get shots. If I miss that, then I try to salvage my spring ritual with some shots of the outdoor spring bulbs, usually the tulips, daffodils, hyacinth or crocus in my gardens. I got my outdoor shot successfully this year, late in the afternoon of April 15, and had a gorgeous day to find what I wanted.

One of my more interesting shots was the one at the top -- taken blindly by placing the camera in the dirt at the bottom of a mound where tulips were planted, then pointed upward to catch the tulips backgrounded by the sky, enriched by a polarizing filter.

Spring's best-known weed -- the dandelion (above); below, the violet bloom on another lawn weed.