Shades of Purple

Wild Geranium

The first wild geraniums are in bloom on Roundtop Mtn. today. So far I haven’t seen any others. Every few or several years, the forest seems full of these lovely little purple flowers. Then after that, several more years will pass with fewer numbers of them. It’s too soon to know how many will bloom this year, though it’s probably still a year or so too soon for them to produce another banner crop.

2012 is producing a banner crop of wild violets, at least around my part of the forest. These deep purple flowers are everywhere. Don’t tell the other flowers, but I think the wild violets are my favorite—at least this year.

Rain is forecast for this weekend and into Monday, lots of it. Inches of it. Though no one wants rain on a weekend, my region is so dry right now that I’m not going to mind. Without any snow this past winter and few April showers this spring, the local rivers are already nearly as low as August. The soggy weather will likely put a damper on my hiking, birdwatching and photography—the three outdoor things I enjoy the most—but I’ll deal with it. The rain is much needed and will be welcome.

Wild violets