Monday morning I went hiking with my cousin the professional photographer and had a great time playing with the new macro lens.  But as I feared, the season is really compressed.  Twinleaf was completely done flowering, only four days after full bloom.  Trout lilies were waning, and so were the early toothworts.  But so many other plants were just going crazy, as if they knew they had to make up for lost time.  I found twelve more species blooming!

On Tuesday, temperatures fell all day and the rain turned to sleet Tuesday night.  Today’s high should be in the 50s.  Who knows what I’ll find out there…

Meanwhile, here’s a picture of spring avens (Geum vernum), an unassuming little blossom, first of the rose family to bloom in this area: