We can always count on Donna MacIntosh to capture close-up shots of things happening here in the UP Northwoods and today's photos give you a glimpse of Spring as it's blooming here and now.

Donna starts us out with the beautiful white Trilliums that you see all over the roadsides, along the edges of the woods this time of year. They're so white on the awakening ground, that their beauty just stands right out. Too bad they don't last all summer, too.
The second photo has a flower I've seen before, but I have no idea what it is called. It reminds me of spiderwort, but I know that's not it at all, so please help me out here folks and someone tell us what this colorful beauty is. Thanks in advance!

Of course everyone knows what flower that is in photos three and four. The common Dandelion, which is a weed to some and a pretty flower to others, but to the bees it's a necessary source of food, sometimes their first meal of the year. So, if you can, please let them be (pun intended), so those that depend on them for their meals get a good start this spring.

Something else that's blooming right now UP North, are the leaves. The trees are filling in with colors of green, yellow and gold as I type, making the Keweenaw lush with foliage once again.

One last blooming shot from Donna here today and it gives us the promise of fruit to come. I can't tell what kind of fruit trees those are for sure, but I'm guessing most likely apple trees. I wonder if this will be a bumper crop of apples this year or one of the off years. We'll just have to wait and see!

Nice bloomers and the plants look good, too!

Love Trillions! Our Trillion season was back in
March and April. Nice to see them again!

The blue flower maybe a vinca specie...

That blue one is Creeping Phlox...it's in w/the
Trilliums. I love the colors of Spring, and all
the blossoms....it's so gorgeous out there!!!

Nice Pix! Why does the 4th photo make my eyes water, and I suddenly have the urge to sneeze?? lol

The second pic is vinca minor, aka creeping myrtle or perwinkle. Vinca major is similar but with larger leaves and tends to be a bit more aggressive in spreading under the right (wrong?) conditions.

I so love all the pics....but that one of the
dandelion fluff is absolutely LOVELY!

The lavender/blue flower is a vinca. My Dad has a huge area of that in his yard.

Part two of our travel story to the U.P. appears in the
newest
episode of our show, Rollin' On TV. The show is now
viewable on our website and it begins broadcasting
nationwide this weekend. The Cliffs Shaft Mine, Quincy
hoist, Houghton/Hancock, Van Riper state park, L'Anse,
the
Pizza Works and Keewenaw Brewing Company, the snow
thermometer, Sunset Bay RV park, Copper Harbor and the
Harbor Haus restaurant all make appearances on the
show.
We hope you enjoy it!

http://www.rollinontv.c
om

The picture of the blue flower Vinca is identical
to what I have growing as well.

Beautiful!

I have never been one to spend the effort to keep a
lush, green lawn... much to the dismay, I'm sure, of
some of my neighbors. Next time I get "that look" from
one of them about my Dandelions I will respond with,
"just doing my small part, contributing to the care and
feeding of the bee ecology".

It's such a beautiful Spring. I am happy to have had three of them-
-one at a wedding in Baltimore at the beginning of April, another in
Toronto that lasted much of May, and now it's lilacs, trilliums and
fruit blossoms all over the U.P. Love it! Thanks, Donna.

Beautiful pictures!!

Janie T. (Bobbysgirl):
"Love Trillions! Our Trillion season was back in March and April. Nice to see them again!"

As Carl Sagan might have said, "Trillions and Trillions of Trilliums!"