Hard to believe with the snow we had last week but here on the west coast spring is definitely in the air. Our domestic hazelnut has produced catkins (so that’s why we’ve never gotten hazelnuts!) and along the south side of our house crocuses are poking through the snow.
I’m not sure if it’s the bright yellow of the flower that reflects the light bouncing off the snow that creates the little pockets of space around the plants but it sure is interesting – the flowers were only open on the one sunny day we had this weekend. I did find one reference that crocuses generate heat by an exothermic chemical reaction. Apparently the flowers and leaves are also covered with a waxy coating which protects them from late snow and frost.
What a spectacular way to start the gardening season … in February!
If you’ve enjoyed this post you might want to check out other macro related posts at Macro Monday which celebrates the small weekly.
Lovely crocus in the snow!!
Lovely bright yellow.
You can buy the saffron C.sativus but it will take an awful lot of flowers to harvest some.
How beautiful. Excellent shots that added a bit of sunshine to my day.
Crocuses already! I can hardly wait, but wait I must! We still have tons of snow here in Ontario. 🙂
Wonderful details in these lovely images of the crocus coming up through the snow. Our early spring hasn’t arrived quite yet.
Thanks for stopping in folks!
Thanks EG – that one of the advantages of living on the West Coast (although with the “cold” weather we’ve been having lately I guess we shouldn’t boast too much).