What a difference...

A year makes. Especially with the weird one we're having this year.

Hostas, April 21, 2011.

Hostas, April 21, 2012.

(Totally unintentional that I managed to shoot the photos on the same day a year apart. I wish I could do that kind of thing on purpose!)

WaaaaaaAAAAAhhhhh...

Truly, my indoor-only cats really don't want to go outside. Especially not the ones who used to live in the yard. Okay, so maybe the Twins are a bit too curious about what's outside that door, but this fussing is more a matter of my not being inside...

(Yeah, I might want to consider washing that poor storm door. I kinda like the algae but, granted, the bird poo is bit much.)

April...flowers?

Would almost rather have April showers, but to be fair the flowers are putting on a nice show. Enjoy while I go figure out how to do a rain dance. Dance in the rain I can--and certainly will--do. If it ever does. Rain. Forecast? Bah! I'll believe it when I see it. [Said that about a raise at work and guess what? We actually received one.]

I give you the humble.... Johnny Jump-up.

*pow* Playing with the black tones slider in iPhoto today. (Columbine)

Trumpet/coral honeysuckle is starting to open.

The vine is covered with buds this year. So where are my hummers?!

Virginia creeper. Creeper, no kidding...

Never mind "tendrils", this thing has tentacles!

I never get tired of looking at dogwood...

Dew on the (grape) vine.

Who is that hiding in the lilac? Question Mark.

(No, seriously, the butterfly is called a Question Mark...)

I think this is some kind of shelf lichen, but it's so dry it has curled up.

Stop. The. Cuteness.

Seriously, these micro butterflies are too much. After spending the better part of an hour chasing the wee things up and down the road, we came across a couple that apparently had just emerged from their pupae. Not only weren't they fluttering around and flitting away just when you focused on them, they let us pick them up... (Belleplain Store Forest.)

An azure. I don't care which. More to the point, it wouldn't get off my finger...

("Uh-uh, lady! You're the highest, safest point around; you are not putting me back on the ground!")

Brown elfin, yet another miniature wonder. Just look at those colors...!

(First shot is fuzzy--I didn't bother to tweak it--but it shows the interesting shape of the hindwing.)

Dogwood Blossoms.

(It's not a bad photo by itself, but I sure do love that "Watercolor" filter...)