Springtime in December +3

[AlanLichty]

I have seen some small plants with unusual timing on their blooms out along the coast but I did not expect to encounter a rhododendron in full bloom when I was wandering around yesterday.

I also ran into a thistle that was showing a green thistle head just starting to come out.

Both of these are iPhone 13 Pro shots as I wasn't carrying my DSLR.

C&C always welcome.

 

[Jim Dockery]

Great shots, that is a crazy Rhody - was the whole thing blooming? I wonder if it's a special type that does a winter bloom?

 

[AlanLichty]

Great shots, that is a crazy Rhody - was the whole thing blooming? I wonder if it's a special type that does a winter bloom?

Thanks Jim - yes the whole thing was blooming. It looks just like the rest of the coastal rhodies I have seen except for the unusual timing of the blooms. None of the rest of the rhodies in the vicinity of this one were blooming or even looking like they were about to either.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Crazy stuff Alan. Maybe rhodies are evolving to accommodate global warming.

 

[JimFox]

Very cool images Alan! But wow... that is so weird.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Interesting to find these in this weather.

 

[AlanLichty]

Crazy stuff Alan. Maybe rhodies are evolving to accommodate global warming.

Very cool images Alan! But wow... that is so weird.

Interesting to find these in this weather.

Thanks for the comments. This might not be as unusual as I originally thought. I took a walk today that left me wandering around the neighborhoods north of the park I am in and there were various flavors of blooms all over the place. Not plants I am used to seeing but in full bloom nonetheless.

No idea what this is but it was all over the neighborhoods as a yard planting

Then on the way back I spotted an aging sign near a lumber mill at the north edge of town:

 

[MonikaC]

Thanks for the comments. This might not be as unusual as I originally thought. I took a walk today that left me wandering around the neighborhoods north of the park I am in and there were various flavors of blooms all over the place. Not plants I am used to seeing but in full bloom nonetheless.

View attachment 44847


No idea what this is but it was all over the neighborhoods as a yard planting

View attachment 44848


Then on the way back I spotted an aging sign near a lumber mill at the north edge of town:

View attachment 44846

That might explain it!
I seem to remember meeting someone decades ago who lived in Brookings - he said it was a great place to retire because the weather was so mild.

 

[AlanLichty]

That might explain it!
I seem to remember meeting someone decades ago who lived in Brookings - he said it was a great place to retire because the weather was so mild.

Not quite so mild this morning at 36º but most of the time it is at least 10-15º warmer than the Willamette Valley. There are more than a few retirees here - wandering around the grocery store I feel young compared to most of the other shoppers.

 

[MonikaC]

Not quite so mild this morning at 36º but most of the time it is at least 10-15º warmer than the Willamette Valley. There are more than a few retirees here - wandering around the grocery store I feel young compared to most of the other shoppers.

You mean that you don't need a shopping cart to perambulate?

 

[AlanLichty]

You mean that you don't need a shopping cart to perambulate?

Or a walker or the mobility carts. Your guess is more accurate than you thought.

 

[Douglas Sherman]

Thanks for the comments. This might not be as unusual as I originally thought. I took a walk today that left me wandering around the neighborhoods north of the park I am in and there were various flavors of blooms all over the place. Not plants I am used to seeing but in full bloom nonetheless.

View attachment 44847


No idea what this is but it was all over the neighborhoods as a yard planting

View attachment 44848


Then on the way back I spotted an aging sign near a lumber mill at the north edge of town:

View attachment 44846

Beautiful job with the flowers, Alan. That purple flower is a Princess Flower. I photographed some in Hawaii.

 

[AlanLichty]

Beautiful job with the flowers, Alan. That purple flower is a Princess Flower. I photographed some in Hawaii.

Thanks Doug - and thanks for the ID. The Princess Flowers are very popular in the neighborhoods I wandered through and most of them were blooming.