Category: trillium

This is what spring looks like on the Oregon coast

March is unpredictable on the Oregon Coast. Sunny one day, stormy the next. When I took this picture yesterday, it was windy, drizzling and cold.  Today, we have sun, but rain is forecast for later. People are flocking to the beaches for spring break, but I wouldn’t spread my towel on the sand just yet. Go to the aquarium, blow a glass float, visit our art galleries and museums, or try our clam chowder, marionberry cobbler, and locally brewed beer. Don’t forget your hoodie.

All winter, our berry vines have looked like dead sticks, but they’re coming back to life. These salmonberries are determined to take over the space between my deck and the fence. Meanwhile, the daffodils are blooming like crazy despite the rain and wind. Trillium decorate our trails, and in local creeks, skunk cabbage plants are starting to spread their giant leaves and send up bright yellow flowers that do indeed smell like skunk spray.
Happy spring to all. May your storms ease, your snow melt and the sun make everything bloom.

Signs of Spring

You can’t tell it from all the rain that has been pouring on us lately, but spring is coming, even to the Oregon Coast. A few days ago on our walk through the woods, Annie and I saw the first trilliums of the year. These three-petaled flowers from the lily family start out white, then turn pink and finally go lavender before they wilt. By then, the other flowers are getting the idea.
On that first day, I only saw one trillium. Two days later, the banks  along our walk were covered with them.
Another sign of spring that appeared shortly after Valentine’s Day is all the Easter paraphernalia that has hit the stores. Makes it hard for people who gave up chocolate for Lent. Me, I gave up French fries. It’s harder than you think.
One thing that makes me laugh every time I see it is in the window of the kite store at the corner of Hurbert and 101 in Newport. I haven’t taken a picture because I’m always busy driving at that intersection, but let me try to describe it.
We see two chocolate bunnies. One appears to have had its ears eaten off. The one with ears says, “Happy Easter!” The one without responds (wait for it), “What?”
Question: how many of us eat the ears off our chocolate bunnies first?
Happy spring.