Spring Nearby

It’s not quite spring here in central NH but it was in Boston on Tuesday.

Actually, it was temporarily summer, with a surprise high temperature of 87F. I was in the city with my spouse to visit the New England Aquarium, along with a million schoolchildren (I guess it must be school vacation week in Massachusetts!), hoping to see the giant Pacific octopuses (after reading Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of An Octopus), which unfortunately were not on display while they re-do their exhibit. We saw small red octopuses squeezed into glass containers, and lots of these octopus balloons for sale outside:

After a couple of hours underwater, as it were, we ate lunch outside in Quincy Market, where we consumed 3 liters of water to counteract the combined effects of the scorching heat, sun, and our still-winter clothes; I had on a lightweight long-sleeved shirt, sleeves rolled up, and light nylon pants, but poor spouse started the day — when it was 36F at home — in a coat, sweater vest, and heavy shirt, plus jeans; by lunch, his sleeves were rolled up, and the sweater vest was in my pack, the coat tied around his waist. We saw women in strappy sundresses, flip-flops and sandals, and men in shorts sporting pale thin legs.

Before and after the aquarium visit, we walked the Rose Kennedy Greenway from and to South Station (and a little beyond, to Chinatown), and along it we were dazzled by flowering bulbs, flowering trees, woodland plants, and bees! Since most of our yard that morning was still covered with frozen white stuff, it was truly a sight for snow-blind sore eyes.

If it’s not quite spring where you are, or if it’s fall (in the southern hemisphere), enjoy these reminders of the fresh beauty of life’s renewal.

Crocuses!

I think the white one is Crocus cartwrightianus ‘Albus’:

The yellow may be Crocus chrysanthus ‘Gipsy Girl’:

Bees in purple crocuses:

See the pollen-loaded bee hovering here?

Chionodoxa!, also called Glory of the Snow, though not by me:

And one with a bee!

Narcissus/daffodil (no idea which variety):

Fritillaria — I think it’s F. raddeana based on the colour, location on the greenway, and the Greenway’s plant list:

Dog tooth violet! I think it’s European Dog Tooth Violet (Erythronium denscanis)

Hellebore:

Yoshino cherry tree (Prunus x yedoensis, in the Chinatown section):

Cornelian cherry tree (Cornus mas):

And a few bonus photos, from the aquarium. It’s a very colourful place!

See you later!