A fellow blogger, Audrey Driscoll’s Blog, provided the correct and exact species name for the post “Wildflowers Late Winter / Early Spring.” The posts are updated. Thank You, Audrey.
Correction
Eranthis hyemalis
Category: Flowers
Happy March Wedding Anniversary
Unexpected Beauty
Coronavirus is raging this March 20th (I schedule posts several weeks ahead now), on this day of our anniversary, easy for me to remember falling close to or on the Spring equinox. Earliest spring flowers were up for a week when I spied this group of crocus blooms on a hill. We do not remember them being there, so I called Pam to enjoy them.
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These are extra special, Pam’s parents planted them years ago. The above images are the same photograph. On the left, white balance is set to “cloudy.” At the time, late afternoon, the sun was behind low clouds, providing back light. Perfect lighting for flowers, which is why I interrupted springtime yard cleanup to run inside for the camera.
My intent was to increase the f-stop to over 20 for the following photograph. Metadata on the photograph shows I was only successful in increasing it from 5 to 5.7. ISO was increased from 100 to 400. There was an intermittent breeze and my intent was to avoid blur.
In retrospect, I neglected to change to Aperture mode so any change to F-stop I made was reset. This is a beginners mistake, so photograph turned out well. The colors are richer in the f/5.7 shot.
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Icicle Macro
from the moss
The entire wall above the Cliff Stair is a ground water seep caught here by a sudden April frost.
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Icicles, Cliff Stair
When the icicles melt, the moss is there relishing the moisture. Here is a link to some fascinating information from an earlier post, “Finger Lakes Water Chemistry.”
Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
Click for macro slideshow.
So Like a Christmas Tree 
Cliff Stair 
Icicle Wonderland 
Sudden Frost April, Cliff Stairs Icicles, Cliff Stair
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Seep
Visible Groundwater
The fascinating walls above the 224 steps of the Cliff Stairs are a constant wonder in all seasons.
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Sudden Frost April, Cliff Stairs
These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.
Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
Click for macro slideshow.
So Like a Christmas Tree Cliff Stair Icicle Wonderland Sudden Frost April, Cliff Stairs
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Gathered Light
Each wall is support for the next flight of stairs
I walked the Rim Trail after a sudden April frost.
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Icicle Wonderland
These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.
Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
Click for macro slideshow.
So Like a Christmas Tree Cliff Stair Icicle Wonderland
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Soft on Rough
Dusted with light
Snow clings to the rough tree bark surface graced by late afternoon vernal sunshine.
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Late April Snow dusted with light
These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.
Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
Click for macro slideshow.
Late April Snow dusted with light 
Fern Frond with Early April Snow 
Fresh Icicle with Fern 
Rim Trail icicles with lichen, moss and fern. 
Rim Trail icicles with lichen, moss and fern. 
Acorn Still Life 
Hydrangea Ensenada ClubAleman Chile February 15, 2016
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Fronds with Icicle
Fern Generations
Spent and green fern frond with moss and icicles formed during an early April frost.
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Fresh Icicle with Fern
Fern generations are here with the spent fronds from earlier years, pale green survivors of this season.
These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.
Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
Click for macro slideshow.
Fresh Icicle with Fern Rim Trail icicles with lichen, moss and fern. Rim Trail icicles with lichen, moss and fern. Acorn Still Life Hydrangea Ensenada ClubAleman Chile February 15, 2016
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Solved: Flowering Bush Mystery
from Asia by way of Germany
Thank you to the readers whose thoughtful responses appeared these past two days. Pam and I were caring for two grandchildren and, last evening after their Mom picked them up, I sat down with “The Botanical Garden” by Phillips and Rix, Volume I (2002, Firefly Books, Buffalo, New York and Willowdale, Ontario) and a sprig of the leaves and flowers and narrowed the choices to the genus Weigela of the family Caprifoliaceae.
Native to Asia (China, Korea, northeastern Siberia, and Japan), it was cultivated in France in the late 19th Century and is popular in cold climates, where it does well. These plants have been outside the kitchen window of our home for as long a Pam can remember (back to the 1960s).
I don’t know the exact species, it may be a hybrid of several. What identifies it is the overall growth pattern (tall, though we prune it down so the kitchen window view is not obstructed), the leaves (shape, come in pairs on opposite sides of the branch, tip is pointed and edges have teeth), the flower (tubular, 5 petals, 5 stamen shorter than the petals, 1 simple style with a capitate stigma). “Capitate” means it is round and on top of the style like a head. “Style” is an extension of the ovary though which fertilization by pollen happens. Ours is not fragrant, though some are.
SONY DSC
Weigela is the family name of a early professor of Botany (and Chemistry, Pharmacy, Mineralogy) for the university town of Greifswald on the Baltic Sea. There is a botanic garden and arboretum associated with the university and, I suppose, a specimen of the plant was collected for the garden where it is scientifically characterized by the professor.
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Another Woody Peony
A handy length of black velvet
By way of personal inventory, our home has two types of woody peonies in different hues. Last posting I gave you red, au natural. Today, you get yellow in a studio setting, back-dropped by black velvet. There is a story behind that long sheet of fabric. Back in the day, a nephew of mine named Chris and I used to hang out together in the Catskills and Adirondacks. Later, I offered to photograph James, his first born. In preparation, I purchased this six foot length of fabric. It served well for that job and, since then, has done double duty as a wintertime cage cover for the parakeet.
This week, I told Pam our yellow wooden peony was in bloom. A largish bush of full leaves that tend to cover the drooping blooms, Pam harvested six blooms to created an arrangement. These “babies” look great against the black velvet.
Yesterday I used the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USB lens and a tripod to capture the following two portraits of Pam’s Yellow Wooden Peony arrangement. In deference to the unanimous reader choice for crisp flower petals the following two versions differ in the crispness of the velvet backdrop.
My timing was fortuitous, last evening the petals started to drop. Pam reports 12 more blossoms are hidden in the bush, so we’ll have at least one more bouquet to enjoy.
Click either photograph for a larger version.
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 