This Week in My Viewfinder
for the week of Mar 28 —Apr 3, 2021: Straddling two seasons
Text and photos by and ©LensAfield.
Greetings to all:
I’m Len, new here, hoping to post weekly when I am afield during my active shooting season. When that will start, I’m not quite sure. The weather here in central NJ has been…challenging. I am writing this at the end of the week that straddles March and April. Last weekend it was 80 degrees. This weekend is cold and windy. Technically (astronomically), it’s spring…but very much still winter with frost possible for the next 6 weeks. This is a time when there isn’t much around the place worth shooting, but hints of what’s to come abound.
The first half of the week included the last half-week of March, a time when my indoor potted South African Orange Stars are in bloom. I thought I would provide sample photos that hit on the Flower-a-Day and Black & White themes.
Some late winter flowers are in bloom outside including daffodils, early tulips, and this image showing an Iris in close proximity to a Glory of the Winter, blue variety. Others types will follow soon enough.
Looking forward into April, my Concord grape vine is preparing to blossom. At this time, approximately half of the buds are still in the latent state as the other half have moved into the swelling stage.
Soon they will open and begin the fast-moving process of simultaneously developing the flowers that will become grapes and new long canes with abundant (and edible) leaves.
And one last photo that shows part of my little cactus plot (yes, prickly pear cactus in NJ), flattened against the ground due to lack of turgor, with the typical sickly-looking brown-gray-green color of winter dormancy. That will change soon enough!
Will there be something more interesting to add next week? Check back at the end of the week to find out!
