• Tuesday-What'sUP April 18 - 09:35 am

This colorful perennial flowering plant is one of the first to push its way out of the springtime ground each year. Frederic Koski was up close and personal with one regal Crocus, in fact so close you can see a bit of fuzz on the tip of the left side petals…stunning photo! When I spotted this shot in Frederic's Guest Gallery, it reminded me of a scene that I pass each day on my morning walk around Lake Linden. These Crocuses are planted by a woman named Gladys, who obviously has a green thumb and a huge pile of leftover snow in her yard to boot! I like the contrast of the dirty old with the showy new, symbolizing spring as a fresh beginning!

Mary, I agree with you about the above pictures being a nice contrast.

We have tulips up. What a welcome change from winter "dirty snow."

I love the look of spring. This one is funny, though, with the pile of snow sitting next to the flowers. Only in da UP, eh:)

Only in da U.P. ain't it da truth? Gotta love it for sure! Good Morning everyone.

GOOD MORNING
IF GLADYS'S CROCUS IS SO PRETTY ,WONDER WHAT SHE COULD DO WITH GLADYSOLAS? PRETTY DAY IN INDIANA BUT WOULD RATHER BE IN COPPER HARBOR. HAVE A GREAT DAY FOLKS.
JEFF LC

nice focus on the crocus, Frederic

Morning All.
-Paul- Nice rhyme. Greast pics of the flowers. Just took a peek at the Bridge Cam, 'Hey Boss, Da Bridge, Da Bridge is UP. Sure sign of Spring in the 'Copper Country' when the Bridge is raised to allow Boat traffic in the channel.
Enjoy the day everyone.

Interesting crocus info.....it takes about 2 acres of crocus to produce one ounce of saffron.The saffron is the little threads inside the crocus flower.

Good morning from Green Bay! I like your comments this morning, Mary. Not that I don't like them other mornings, but, the flower is such a great sign of the arival of warm weather. Being ex-UP and having lived in various countries of the world I still find the CC my home of homes. Good for one's psychy to check in each morning.

Good morning all ! Nice photos ! Interesting, I did not know the
crocus-saffron connection ! Thanks ! With these photos, proof
that it should be morel time up there soon ? They are finding
them down here .

Try pricing saffron in the local super market. If it's not on the shelf of spices you have to ask for it. Seems I priced it a month or so aog at like $14.00 and there was very little saffron in the bottle.Top o' the morning everyone :)

As a kid, even thou Grandma J. lived right next door, spring always came to her house first because of the blooming of her crocus'.

The pile of snow under the fir trees directly below the lift
bridge is about gone, and it seems early this year. Watching
that pile dwindle has been something of an end-of-winter
barometer for me. During my years living near Elkhart
Indiana, the melted pile signaled it was time for me to
wander to the UP again in search of the photo locations I
used for my RV travel and vehicle photography.

Now I'm living in Eugene Oregon, back home finally, and
seeing the snowpile dwindle reminds me of the great times
I enjoyed in the UP. It also makes me more determined than
ever to arrange more business jaunts to the UP so I can
show my wife even more of the area's beauty and fun.

Thanks for the daily dose of the UP.

Jeff Johnston

At the price of saffron, we used to keep it in the safe where I worked. It would never stay on the shelf otherwise.

Just love these spring pictures. All of my spring flowers are blooming. It will be awhile before we see any tulips.

I just noticed the Bridge is up!

We have a very informal flower bead along the front sidewalk, and between the driveway and house on the east side. Established are three 'flavors' of milkweed (Common, Marsh, and Butterfly) When these plants were just barley showing above the ground, we noticed a steady stream of monarch Butterflies that some how (no flowers) were finding and landing on these tiny plants among all the other weeds and plants. Now there are sometimes five or six larva monarch caterpillars on each plant...looks like more than the small plants can support. Quite big now, ready for their metamorphosis. These are rag-tag monarchs that look like they have made it thought the winter, and their species is migrating back north for the summer. Very faded out, tattered wings. This is the first time we have eve had this early in the season (larva usually appear much later in the season around the house). This is sort of an amazing first time occurrence...possibly a banner year for Monarchs!

Try an Indian grocery for saffron. I got some there quite inexpensively.

Add a pinch of saffron to rice with onion and chicken stock, saffron rice is great with lamb chops. Unfortunately the crocuses above aren't the ones that produce the saffron :( The pistils of the flower are hand picked, that's why so expensive, but a little goes a long way :)

nice flowers nice snow

We picked some nice black morel mushrooms on Monday, the day after Easter....near Buckley mi. two weeks earley for down here in central michigan !

Tom--

Oh how I envy you! We tried planting them in
our yard here in Toronto. Without avail. Hope
they hang on til I get to the UP on Victoria Day
Weekend (the weekend before Memorial Day).

What did you make with your morels?

Things sure are early this year. My May
flowers are in bloom.

We like them best fried in butter (gently) with ground serloin

Yum!