Soon after we vanished into the woods, we came upon this tiny clearing. It was full of ferns. They made such a lovely backdrop that I had to snap a shot. I’ve accumulated a large number of lovely photos this summer; I’m using quite a few of them as desktop backgrounds. Most of them are flowers. I’m thinking of posting them all as a separate photo study. If anyone wants any shots they see - let me know the size of your desktop, and I’ll send them to you by email.

When I looked up from the gorgeous ferns, I was confronted by what can only be described as a wild man - a denizen of the deep forests and wilderness paths. I couldn’t help but think of how uncannily like Doug he looked! *blink*

On the dappled forest floor, underneath the trailside growth, hides a tiny dewberry - stark red in so much green.

The forest is riddled with old, crumbled down stone walls. At one time, these woods were fields, and early farmers pastured their herds in them. Stone walls marked the boundaries. Now, what’s left of all of their work is a line of stones, hidden by moss and leaves - vanishing into the underbrush.

This is the same stone wall as the one in the above picture, from a different angle. What you’re seeing is the roots from an old tree which was once growing on the stone wall, and which fell prey to age and time, perhaps with the help of a storm. The roots, which still have rocks from the wall embedded here and there, rise like a gate beside the path.

Tiny red Pigeon berries and blossoms decorate a dappled forest floor. To the middle right, a Checkerberry tempts me with its wintergreen flavored leaves.

The silent, peaceful forest … home to whispering breezes, bird song, and the chittering of little squirrels, who like to remind you that you’re intruding into their domain. The only thing prettier than sunlight dappling a woodland floor, is sunlight dancing on an open lake.

With the quiet coolness of the woods behind us, Birdsfoot Trefoil lines the path home with bright and cheerful color.

Blue spruce rise majestically into the sky, filling the air with an aromatic piney scent, and gladdening the eye with unusual blue needles.

These little flowers, called Robin Runaways, are common all along the east coast of the US. They’re probably also seen elsewhere, but I’d have to research that to be certain. These have been greatly magnified. They’re very tiny, delicate little flowers that are often found in shady spots.

This is a close up of an apple blossom. The tiny petals seemed impossibly delicate, and the scent was unforgettably sweet. These flowers only grace us in the earliest spring, when the air is still as crisp as their fruit will be.

Tiny Violets hide the green grass, humble and demure … willing to allow all of that delicate beauty to be crushed underfoot by any passerby. Ah! Tiny Violet! What a lesson your life could be to those who would listen.

Daffodils make me happy. All I need to do is look at their smiling faces, and it makes me happy. Their cheerful countenance is like a promise of summer days and sunshine.

Spring in New England means lilacs gracing us with their beauty, and their fragrances filling the air. The odor reaches right into our homes, and draws us out of our winter cocoons, where we stand hesitantly in the warming daylight, and become intoxicated with odors too sweet to describe. These lilacs are “doubles” … each tiny fleurette has double petals.

Even tinier and daintier than an apple blossom, these Bartlett Pear blossoms covered our small pear tree this spring. It’s amazing that something that starts out so tiny can produce such a large, tasty fruit.

These white lilacs are single petaled, and far more common than the doubles. In spite of that, their fragrance is no less heady, and their blossoms are no less attractive. The scent is surprisingly intense for such a delicate flower.

The lowly Lily of the Valley, here dressed in a robe of pink. These are usually white, but my husband’s aunt gave me a few coveted pink roots when I first moved into the farm, and now they grace the base of our hickory tree, intermingling with the violets and the Robin Runaway. These are, in my opinion, the sweetest smelling flowers of all. I even prefer these to roses, although I also have a deep love for those.

Violets peep out from between the Robin Runaway. Ah! The things we could see if only stopped to look …

These are Asian Pear blossoms, and I saved them for last. This is one of the photos that’s been gracing my desktop for the last couple of weeks. I think that the Asian Pear is the prettiest of all of the fruit blossoms. They were the very first flowers to greet me this spring, and I had to forcibly prevent myself from picking them all to bring them into the house with me.