Life In The North Country

Just when I thought all the different varieties of Daffodils had bloomed, these small white flowers opened:

They look much like orchids and are perhaps my favorites of all the varieties:

Alongside a nearby road, I saw large, wet areas filled with Marsh Marigolds in bloom:

This road is rife with wildflowers every spring, so I make sure to pay it a visit. Here's a close-up of a Marsh Marigold plant:

And on the same road each spring, I also find huge quantities of White Trilliums, officially and accurately called Large-Flowered Trilliums:

They are spectacular, including some with a pinkish hue:

The town or county had mowed the edge of the road this year, yet there was still a band of Trilliums along the side and beyond the mowed strip, creating quite a spectacular display:

Back home in my lawn, Wild Strawberries began to bloom in abundance:

A new species of Violet appeared in my lawn, this one with smaller leaves and pale, smaller flowers. I went to my field guide to identify it but was unable to do so. I'll just call them the small, pale Violet:

Winthrop, New York is so small that it doesn't qualify as either a town or village. I guess that makes it a hamlet, but a new Dollar General store just opened there and local wags call it "The Winthrop Mall." I noticed the other day that they have several designated parking spaces for Amish buggies, complete with horse manure (AKA road apples) to prove they are being used:

The fantail pigeons are happy and healthy. They still have not produced babies, but I have all the birds I need and am not anxious for more:

This lady, however, is trying to have a successful nest:

Moore's Hill Lilac Farm

The Massena Garden Club was going on a field trip to the Moore's Hill Lilac Farm in Potsdam, New York and some people from church were going with them. I decided to go also, and drove out alone, getting there early. I found a beautifully restored old farm house:

And a couple of barns in wonderful shape:

There were rows of Lilacs out back:

When the Garden Club (and guests) arrived, we assembled in the barn for a talk on Lilacs and to see lots of full color photos:

And then we broke into two groups to tour the outside, one led by the husband and one led by the wife:

Alas, our spring was so delayed that even the Lilacs were not yet blooming. Even with winter coats, it was so cold and blustery that we were shivering:

They had approximately sixty varieties, enough to confuse a novice like me:

They categorized their Lilacs into early, mid-season and late bloomers. The late bloomers were mostly what are often called Korean Lilacs, with smaller leaves and shorter heights:

We found one bush which was almost in bloom. You can see how cold it was by the way people were bundled up:

A Korean Lilac:

At the end, we reassembled in the barn for more information and to have our questions answered:

They do not ship or sell over the internet, but you might enjoy perusing their website. You can find it here. I bought a Lilac myself before I left, a variety called Beauty Of Moscow. It is a tall, fast growing, robust, heavily perfumed and abundant bloomer with pink buds which open to white: I am looking forward to seeing it bloom: