Outdoor Wednesday

After a wordless Wednesday - now I get a chatty Outdoor Wednesday - be sure and visit A Southern Daydreamer to see more fabulous Outdoor Wednesdays.

A few weeks ago we decided it was time to get photos of the daffodils in bloom - there are so many in our town, and some of my favorites are in a big park near our house. They grow right along the street- in massive bunches. Each year the bunches get bigger and bigger. It is a busy street, and Don had to pull over to the side, almost out of traffic, and then watch for oncoming cars and wave them on around us. We got lots of smiles and waves as people noticed what we were doing.

A nice variety . . .

I love the soft yellow of the centers . . .

Nothing like a big ol' yellow daffodil . . .

Here is a good example of how big the individual bunches are . . .

Then we drove down to the bay - to a very small park. Near the park on the bay is a seafood processing plant and someone had planted daffodils in front of the sign - so of course I had to have pictures of that.



Next - a little drive in the country and some of my favorite spring flowers - Skunk Cabbage. Growing up in Southeast Alaska (Sitka) I would always smell these "flowers" in the spring time, they were a sure sign that spring was at last coming. Having no skunks in our area, I had no idea that we were supposed to dislike this scent - so I didn't dislike it - in fact I liked it - a lot. Now when we see a large patch of skunk cabbage we always have to slow down and open the windows so I can enjoy one of my favorite spring scents. I know - it isn't lilacs - which I also adore - but it smells like spring to me.


And just as we drove onto our street - there on the side of the street were Mr. and Mrs. Mallard - enjoying the muck in the little ditch beside the street.

He was keeping watch while Mrs. shovelled along, looking for something tasty. There are ponds about two blocks away - but this couple has decided to take up residence here instead. We see them every time we drive in and out - and sometimes they are just sitting quietly on a very small strip of grass beside one of the driveways. They are so well camouflaged that I worry a car will hit them. They don't seem to be bothered at all by the traffic, and we stopped and took pictures for several minutes and they didn't move from this area.