• Saturday-What'sUP April 10 - 12:46 am

The Crocuses are in bloom, hallelujah! And what vibrant colors these two early birds of the spring garden are. They are a sure sign that we've endured the harshest portion of winter and survived. So thank you, Joyce Tormala, for giving us all hope that it really is Spring! Another sign of winter's demise (at least to me), is the appearance of Easter Lilies still decorating stores and homes. Frederic Koski captured a shot so real, you can almost smell the sweet, clean fragrance that these pretty trumpet-like flowers emit. Time to get the gardening catalogs out and order my bulbs for planting!

(Toivo has the day off to attend a wedding)

When I saw my crocuses bloom last week I knew Spring was here!

Beautiful pictures!!!

Good morning! Woweeee! Beautiful pictures!

Mercy, mercy, mercy! What great shots.

I love crocuses! There is a patch of them in the Keweenaw on an adondoned road that adorn the former ruins of 2 log cabins. Eventhough the people are no longer there and the cabins have rotten away, the crocuses have multipled and prevail! Happy Spring!

Spring is here, 50 degrees in Calumet I bet you can hear the grass growing today.

For the second day in a row it's sposed to be near record highs of 75 degrees here in ND, it got to 71 or 72 yesterday, lets see what we get today, also very windy for the second day in a row with up to 40mph winds, it's only a little over a month til Im coming back to the UP

Beautiful pictures Joyce :) I can almost smell their sweet fragrence.

M.B., IL-WI-MI, where is this road in the Keweenaw that has the pretty crocus by the fallen down log cabins?? Sounds like a beautiful sight!

Such beautiful spring pictures. If possible, it would be great to see photos of arbutus blooming. Thanks.

Oh yes,please someone take some pictures of the arbutus!!

Today's pictures are beautiful! Thanks.

Nice pic Joyce, it's amazing how "hardy" the crocus is, kind of like a yooper.

remember: spring is amoung us when the asparagus has sprung(us)

LOVE THOSE FLOWEERY PICTURES OF SPRING! THANKS FOR SHARING THEM. THEY GIVE ONE HOPE THAT GREEN GRASS, LEAVES ON TREES & WARMER TEMPS ARE ON THE WAY.

Spring is sprung, da grass is riz, I wonder where da birdies is?

Spring, spring, beautiful spring, all da boyds is on da wing, my, my, how absoid, all da wings is on da boyds.

It's great to see the spring crocuses. Warning!!
Easter Lilies are #1 deadly poison to house cats
that may chew on them. I lost "Cinnamon" 3 weeks ago. It shuts down the Kidneys. Check out the ASPCA poison plant section. Protect your pet.

Win Tucker, I am sorry to hear about your loss. I hope everyone who has kitty cats takes heed in what you say about Easter Lillies, Once again my condolonences.

No Lilies here for the same reason. We run an inner city Detroit animal shelter and run into the same problems every year. Sorry for you loss. See the UP er's on the 4th of July if not sooner..........

Sandhill cranes are back in Traprock valley, deer too. Yeah spring!

I like to see the flower pic's of all kinds from up there.Very nice,thanks.On the other subject of poison.I was in my Dog Grooming Parlor and read a note about the Swiffer mop's where you put them throw away pads on to clean tile, linoleum floors.They say those are dangerous,and a dog as large as a Shepard died.Also to infants can cause Liver problems.The chemical is only one molecule away from something that i can't bring to mind at this time that is poison! I haven't read anything else about it other then what was on the door here at the Dog Grooming Parlor in Maynardville,TN.

The ASPCA issued a statement declaring the Swiffer rumor and emails about it to be false. You can read about it on their site: ASPCA Responds to Swiffer Wet Jet Rumor. You can also read about it here on this site that allows you to check if emails circulating are true or false: snopes.com.

Spring in the u.p., nowhere else on earth can you smell the onset of spring in the air, think it has to do with the pristine air and temperature, or could it be related to how far north you are.

Win Tucker - WI: I am sorry to hear about your loss. Thank you for your message so we know for our cat.

Wow! Are the other species dangerous also? I have managed to keep different types of Asiatic and Oriental lilies alive for years. I buy more than I need out of sympathy for the poor rootbound plants, waiting to be rescued long after their blooms have faded. We also have 3 puddy tats and I don't want to put them in harms way. So far,they've all survived. Whenever I need my Easter lily fix,I will return to today's beautiful picture.
I will keep my eyes open for arbutus when I am wandering around in the woods;something I do whenever I get the chance,and even when I don't!
I look at my yard now and see mud,gravel,clumps of sod in the most unlikely places,deep ruts,branches-the list goes on. BUT I also see clusters of purple,pink,white and yellow; a wonderful sight,little lights glowing all over the place. Thanks for the comments!