Color in the Rain

It was a little dry here, but the past few days have made up for it.  Which is good! Things are really starting to sprout and the moisture helps the insects thrive... which gives the birds something to eat.  So, I'm thankful for the rain! Sometimes I'll go out walking without my camera when there are rain showers, and sometimes I just put it in a plastic baggie and take it along.  Of course, there are lots of things I can take pictures of from inside my dry house.

First... color in the rain outside my window.  The rose-breasted grosbeaks are back!

In fact, they are back in abundance.  There are 3 males in the next photo (one is in the feeder).

The lady grosbeaks are back, too.

Can you tell she had been eating grape jelly?

Both she and her mate are quite fond of it.

Mr. Oriole has to wait his turn.

A downy woodpecker seems to like the jelly quite well, too.

I think I've got a bunch of 'sugar addicts' here!

Another beauty making an appearance this week is a white-crowned sparrow.  (Not eating jelly though).

Now let's go out into the damp woods and see what colors we can find there.

There are lots of pretty yellow violets.  And some white ones, too.

The white flowers of the shadblow trees are pretty against the blue sky (yes, we did have some blue sky one day)!

There was such nice light that afternoon, highlighting the shadblow and the new leaves just coming out.

I am jealous of the bluets in my neighbor's lawn.  Maybe this will be the year I remember to transplant a few or gather some seeds to sow in our lawn.

I think there are enough to share.

I prefer to call them Quaker Ladies.  The little old Quaker ladies in my family were (mostly) diminutive and sweet like these flowers.

I found one more color in the woods.... some pale pink Squirrel Corn.

It's also a delicate spring wildflower.

It won't be long before its grey-green leaves disappear under the shady canopy of maple leaves.  So take a walk in the rain and find some before they are gone for another year.