Actually, I’ve lost track of how many Monday Colors there have actually been, but I think this number isn’t underselling it. In the past, I’ve posted colors in the winter to counteract the lack thereof outside as we wait for spring to arrive, but this time, they’re actually current, having been taken today.
I posted a variation of this a couple days back, but I retackled the subject with a more appropriate lens (which is of course the Mamiya 80mm macro.) This is one of the Japanese maples overwintering in the greenhouse, which is keeping things toasty enough that the tree is leafing out and flowering. It’s one of four (I think) Japanese maples in there, and if any of the others had started blooming too I’d be cross-pollinating them just to see what happens. It’s that kind of toying with nature that causes comic books and cheesy 50s horror movies to happen, but that’s what people expect from atheists anyway, so why fight it?
Granted, showing off stuff from the greenhouse is cheating, if we’re highlighting winter activity, so the next one isn’t. This is right out in the open, and I’d missed my opportunity to snag this with snow on top.
A few years ago The Girlfriend had seen a paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) in bloom in late winter/early spring, and we finally got a pair last year. One of them seemed to have died in the pot, but this one was doing great and got transplanted in the fall, already bearing flower buds then. It’s blooming nicely now, even though it’s still quite small, and each branch has new leaf buds at the ends, but it was a bit challenging to photograph since the blossoms face downwards and the highest isn’t half-a-meter off the ground. Counting the length of the camera/lens combo, and my fat head, there was a very narrow margin to even obtain focus and still get the entire blossom in the frame. Paperbushes can get very big and thick, so we’ll see how this progresses over the next few years.
Anyway, a little shot of color for Monday while I still look for photo projects to tackle. I’m working on it…