Colours of Spring

After an early dinner tonight, I went for a walk to get some fresh air and exercise. I took a slightly different route and ended up cutting through a housing area to get to the slough where a duck couple were enjoying an evening snack. The male's dark green head contrasted with the tail feathers of deep purple, while the female's body ranged from off-white to a rich brown. I'm not sure if they had a nest around there yet, but they seemed to ignore me even as they waddled up onto land before returning to feast.

As I continued past this spot, I came upon a sweet little garden with a few daffodils that raised their bright yellow faces to the last traces of the day's sunlight. Some blue pansies struggled to survive in the rocky ground where the oak tree greedily sucked the nutrients from the earth. The red berries of the holly bush will not mature for quite a while still.
On the approach to the shopping center, the street was lined with pale pink, almost white, cherry trees in full bloom. The blossoms appeared to be soft and fluffy as they hovered like clouds on the heavily-laden branches.
It was a strange, out-of-body experience to stand beneath the trees and feel as one with the blooms.
On the way home, I passed the house with the giant camelia bush. Tonight it was full of flowers in an array of colours from pale to brilliant and deep pink, but there are still lots of buds waiting to open. This is just one small spot on the bush.
My next-door neighbour has some dark blue grape hyacinths in blossom right now and another neighbour across the street has a magnolia tree that is just starting to blossom. I'm keeping an eye on it so that I can get a photo of it in full bloom. I admire its pale pink to deep purple hues and simply must get a shot this year. I'll post the picture when I get it.

Even though it's still cooler than normal for this time of year, there was the unmistakeable smell of spring in the air tonight. Thank goodness, as we're all so tired of winter.