The Daily Bucket is a place to catch your casual observations of the natural world and turn them into a valuable resource. Whether it's the first flowers of spring or that odd bug in your basement, don't be afraid to toss your thoughts into the bucket. Check here for a more complete description.
Seattle.
Down the road from the forest is a restored wetland. It used to be a city nursery. Now there's a pond that drains out to the lake, willow marshes that drain into the pond, cottonwoods and alders that shelter the whole.
The early wildflowers begin to bloom:
Erythronium sp.
One of the first flowers to bloom here is the Fawn Lily (Erythronium sp.). This one is white and I really don't know its exact name. Perhaps it's the Avalanche Lily (Erythronium montanum) that grows up in the mountains. Our local native is Erythronium revolutum, which is pink with sharply mottled leaves. There is a small stand of these growing on a slope at the southern edge of the wetland, but the location is just enough out of reach that I've never been able to get a good photo.
Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa)
The first Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra formosa) bloomed last week. When my daughter was little she called these "cinnamon hearts" for their fragrance. They grace the floor of the wetland only briefly, then melt quietly back into the duff until the next spring.
Candy Flower (Montia sibirica)
One of the first flowers whose name I learned when I first arrived here - Candy Flower (Montia sibirica), for the pink on white stripe reminiscent of candy canes. No peppermint here, though the plant is edible. A close cousin is Miner's Lettuce.
Western Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton americanus).
No wetland should be without its Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton americanus). A caveat - this photo was taken in the forest - I haven't been able to get a good photo of the ones in the wetland. Still, in both places their powerful fragrance hovers for yards about their physical presence.
Still to come in the wetland, more lilies, shooting star, oxalis, fringecup.
What's happening in your part of the world?