Beech leaves are popping out right now. I’ve often photographed fall beech leaves with their coppery hue and late winter marcescent leaves of papery tan fading to ghostly white, but I’ve never shot a fresh, new leaf as it emerged. The fine hairs on the surface remind me of a baby’s skin!
Sony A7II, Sony 90mm macro lens, ISO 1250, f/13, 1/125″ exposure.
We have two buckeye trees on the property—the one by our back deck that I featured the other day sporting a mantle of snow, and one out by the pond. Both are beginning to leaf out. Buckeyes are prodigious and fast growers, and the bud pictured above will magically transform into a 16″-24″ long stem of new growth and leaves over the summer season. It’s a spectacular thing to observe.
Sony A7II, Sigma 100-400mm lens @ 400mm, ISO 800, f/6.3, 1/320″ exposure.
The magnolia tree in our back garden began to bloom yesterday. I always find it magical that the fuzzy buds I’ve kept my eyes on all winter long can open up to such a profusion of petals.
Sony A7II, Sigma 100-400mm lens @ 400mm, ISO 800, f/8, 1/500″ exposure.
The two tamarack trees we have in our front field are budding profusely right now. As the only deciduous conifer native to Vermont, tamaracks lose their needles every fall and regrow them each spring. You can also see new cones emerging. These will take a season to mature. This particular tree also has quite a few mature cones from last season.
Sony A7II, Sony 90mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/13, 1/125″ exposure.
The magnolia tree in our back yard is in full bloom right now. It’s always a treat to watch the fat furry buds on this tree crack open and burst like slow motion fireworks. But, alas, it’s a short lived celebration as the blossoms are already starting to fall apart.
Panasonic GX8, Lumix 100-300mm lens @ 218mm, ISO 800, f/8, 1/5000″ exposure.
Yesterday’s surprise snow storm made for a pretty morning as the sun rose in a cloudless sky. With a strong southerly airflow, temperatures rose quickly and the 4″ of snow we received is on its way to melting.
According to Mary Holland, this is a boom year for conifer cones, and my observations from around our area bares this out. Those critters that feed on conifer cones—red squirrels, voles, waxwings, chickadees, nuthatches, grosbeaks, crossbills, and siskins—should see a bit of a bump in their numbers next breeding season.
Panasonic GX8, Lumix 14-140mm lens @ 84mm, ISO 800, f/10, 1/640″ exposure.
There’s a clutch of pagoda dogwood along Taft Road that have been beckoning my to take some photos. The dark purple-black berries on their bright red stems contrast so well with the green foliage. A shallow depth of field allows for some ethereal bokeh of the blue sky beyond.
Nikon D600, Sigma 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/5, 1/640″ exposure.
We have quite a number of wild apple trees in our front field and down in the back yard along Fargo Brook. My guess is that, over the years, deer have propagated the trees by muching apples from one and depsoitig the seeds elsewhere. We’ve pruned a few of these trees, and they provide us with apples for cider and apple sauce. This looks to be another good year if we can avoid a late frost.
Nikon D600, Sigma 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/4, 1/2500″ exposure.
Amelanchier (also known as serviceberry, shadbush, and shadblow, among others) is a flowering shrub that blooms this time of year. Its white blossoms are quite visible in the woods before the rest of the neighboring trees have leafed out.
Panasonic GX8, Olympus 60mm macro lens, ISO 1250, f/2.8, 1/4000″ exposure.
John Hadden Photography 