More Spring Beauty

 

The azaleas are dropping some petals to the ground now, but it feels like the cooler weather lately has slowed things down a bit - making spring last longer...

Had a bit of sunshine on my walk today, but it's very windy, and rain showers come and go.
 

I just can't resist taking yet another photo...
... and perhaps just one more...
... and...

Purple rhododendron in the cemetery

Pink/red ones "right on my doorstep" at their best just now.

 

"In the spring, I have counted 136
different kinds of weather inside 24 hours."
— Mark Twain

Linking to Mersad's Through My Lens #485

A Rainy Day

 

As predicted, a rainy and chilly day today - but I ventured out for my usual walk anyway. (Dressed in four layers, with rain coat on top; and rubber boots on my feet!)

The azaleas didn't seem to mind a long, cold shower... :)

At home, I took in my geraniums from the balcony last night, just to be on the safe side... Probably not necessary, as they stand on the bench close to the wall - but I think I'll keep them indoors for another day or so. (I'll definitely not be sitting out there looking at them tomorrow either, according to the weather forecasts...) 

Photo from a week ago (on the balcony).

"Mother and babies"

I've been taking cuttings from a coleus plant that survived the winter, and planted those yesterday. (They're super easy to propagate.) Some of those will also go out on the balcony later. I'll be keeping them in individual pots as that makes it easier to rearrange things according to the weather etc.

More Azaleas

 

We've been enjoying a couple of summery days here, with sunshine and temperatures above 20'C. (24-25 today)  Apparently, that's not going to last though -  they're now saying that in a day or two we should not be too surprised to even see some snowflakes mixed with the rain...! (It's very dry, so we could indeed do with a bit of rain - but snow seems rather "unnecessary"...)

Anyway, yesterday I decided to give both myself and my new tablet a rest from the headaches to do with app installations etc, and try to enjoy the outdoors instead. 

So I went for an "early" walk into town for some errands (not super early - but before lunch, rather than after). And in the afternoon, I was able to sit for a an hour or two on my balcony in relative peace and quiet, under a parasol, relaxing and listening to an audio book, without feeling neither too cold nor too hot. (A rare occurrence, as it's usually either too cold, too windy, too hot, or too much noise from neighbours to spend much time out there...) And a bit later still, I went for a another walk around the cemetery, to check on the azaleas - and to try out a new pair of summer shoes that I had bought in town:

Very light and airy and comfortable, at least for a shorter walk. (Upper part and lining textile; sole underneath light plastic, reminding of crocs.)

Today turned out even warmer - but also windy, so not a "balcony day". But it was also laundry day for me anyway; so that didn't matter much. I was able to both start and finish early with that task, though, so I also had time for another "azalea walk" afterwards...

Azaleas

 

Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus Rhododendron. They bloom in the spring and their flowers often last several weeks. Shade tolerant, they prefer living near or under trees. Plant enthusiasts have selectively bred azaleas for hundreds of years. This has produced thousands of different cultivars. (Source: Wikipedia)

In the cemetery where I frequently walk, one of the major paths is lined with birch trees with azalea bushes growing underneath. The first ones to spring into bloom (last week) were the yellow ones shown in my previous post. This week followed by the ones above, which are kind of pinkish orange. We had a couple of really summery days at the beginning of this week - above 20'C on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the temperature dropped back to just around 11'C again, though - and with quite strong winds blowing as well. (Winter jacket back on when I went out for my walk!) Still sunny and no rain, though. On the whole we've had a very dry spring here - as I also read about in blogs from the UK. In the cemetery, sprinklers have been on this week, watering lawns and flower beds. 

Fading Beauty

 

The whole month of May having been warmer than usual, and ending with a week of thunder and torrential showers, the azaleas, and also some of the rhododendron, are "past their prime" already... (Photos taken yesterday, 31 May.)

Azalea Time

Since the summery weather struck a couple of weeks ago, and the first azaleas in the old cemetery started showing their colours, I've been walking by those almost daily - usually in the late afternoon or early evening, now that it's been rather hot earlier in the day.

First out were the yellow ones (14 May).

Followed by the pinkish red ones (15 May)

Then everything just exploded... (17 May)
 

17 May

17 May

19 May

22 May

22 May

Today I'll give the evening walk a miss. In the late morning, before it got really hot, I went for a walk to the supermarket and back. Then in the early afternoon I went out again to take some stuff to the recycling bins. By then there were a few light clouds in the sky, and there were warnings that we might have rain showers towards evening. Half way to the recycling station (only a few minutes from home) I felt a few tiny drops on my skin. It still didn't look like much would come of it - but before I reached my destination, it was pouring down... By then no point in turning round, though, as I was already wet. So I completed my task (sorting paper vs plastic into the right bins) before going back home ...  The rain had almost stopped before I got home. It was a very short shower - but intense! I had changed clothes before I went out (dressing for Hot and Sunny); but when I got back home I was half drenched and had to immediately change again... As I wasn't far from home I actually sort of enjoyed it, though - after a couple of rather hot and dusty weeks (lots of pollen in the air).

Just now I hear thunder... So more rain may be on its way. 

Azaleas

My last post (with photos from last Saturday) ended with the first azaleas in bloom in the cemetery close to where I live. This week they've been in their full glory, so here are some more photos...

 

Azaleas for Ascension Day

Today is Ascension Day (nearly over when I write this) - the 40th day of Easter, still a public holiday here (marked with red in our calendars) and always on a Thursday. It hasn't quite felt like a holiday here today though, because while I had been looking forward to an extra "quiet" day - without Men at Work on the roof and running up and down the ladder outside my study - they had obviously decided to ignore this holiday and carry on with the job as usual. That surprised me a bit - even if I know that some places of work, like supermarkets, never close on red days any more.

Well, never mind. (They weren't all that noisy - it just made me look twice at the calendar!) For my own part I didn't really have anything special planned. It's been a rainy week and after two days of hardly having set foot outdoors, I managed a walk during an afternoon break in the rain, though. Just my usual walk around the old cemetery - but that did turn out to offer some "extraordinary" beauty, as the azaleas, rhododendron and lilacs have just come into bloom: