Spring may have officially just sprung (the spring equinox was yesterday), but here near Charlotte, NC, it is in full throttle. I really hate the hot humid summers here – I was born a Yankee, so I wilt in the heat, after all – but spring is another matter. When I first moved to the south as a journalism graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I was astounded by springtime in the south.
If you have never experienced it, it can bowl you over. There’s just something so voluptuous and earnest about it. No dilly-dally peeking through the snow, no slow plod to the first glimpse of green. It just takes a few days of strong sun and warm temperatures and then – wham! – it hits you.
I went out for my morning dog walk this morning, and I took my camera with me to record what I saw. We had a good, heavy rain last night, and it seemed like nature just turned on the green this morning, and everything was blooming. It was so beautiful that I just had to share it with you.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwypDGvtk0le8U3g9-FYdPD_CCq9E1B4LrNrOPhd0WU8J0bqGgek7x4rg-FJCQcr2ZuMGBqB7yzW6j5Kz_KQif6-HsC2vL49kbH5zHgGqWUgEulGk6r7MhiDmKI67STVYS3anYIYjeA/s400/spring10.jpg) |
Johnny Jump-Ups |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6QzCvIszw2nWwD6RQ-tK3Dcqy_gk5nHOL9uxmXEUJlUtjQi8imgITE6gGTymYtUq0n9d-O-QLa1HfkT8TqBW7KC1GhmpPiDZT3iuEVi5KdS1h5_fRUiC55-b8XDgz8c7pTb0K7sElg/s400/spring11.jpg) |
Azalea |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8xCW95AHJb7NW46W7mhR2gaaSX1E-fkvf47ANEA2G4b12Q4WoZ1YqhDofq65c8QQMEZ8cUVYhWdspdL2hGpHjZ7wOUd3TAOLTsVpGoCxzda3asx7qgP_TcZvYxQXrQMtaqr9qSyrKw/s400/spring12.jpg) |
Forsythia |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMHN_1my6TazqumWTU0WbeuFV_l1JFV-wEGoGriWpQjPwHnx6FLJzpdWGRLV7gU9PgcVmNwpeaDitqPRMxJo2xt5ZaeifjrtMqGR9oQcglOty-Rt3bB2o8iy6JVvg4wGU8Z7mI6LUmg/s400/spring13.jpg) |
Lenten Rose |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlsCj0kX2x2JenZktDx2B8p_Xce2RKMyhbzP5ERf4zfVZltHDh18mq6JA3RVb83Vucb3ghXpvAYFD6bQhtPTdXAkMI93oL5mYKKpkjMBPlnqUQBBxvHLSDX23oC-4ZshlBivt64WT-Q/s400/spring14.jpg) |
Anyone know the name of this? It is really cool! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNL2FYRleOzE65mXo3S2L3Lg8tS4Lt2KF4D_aRUGWeI9h3s01Pzxdish-RRM25Xd2m_WuDNH4G17q1JaGyBbUXipk6wtY2jpqo9q2N5DXUCj3_pxANTM-aYoVBThWyrgVF_xMFe6h3yA/s400/spring15.jpg) |
Yellow Trumpet Vine |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtlBnVIJhBKu2oaLpmWy1xikhOKvk9_ESvas2jrgKMMjNc4hgqHmdWtEPFY4md7x_J8U-pt1ynB3kPKIY_LapHhHQEsX45tuPaYqgaOdATOl4JofJ2D6eEnSWeiX6VsfUOOkJLVDdMWA/s400/spring16.jpg) |
Bridal Wreath Spirea |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhviMuIHPPq61PHFSgll9yldBE_tB55ax44cclO2qzG6S4LwmtxjUdVW5I-kd12a597cb7h9qNYXVf1_qQWbA734cHm6oNG_rfxSBRfhK_RNfWLwfuTjv-VfSQa8HL4GaYZ0tf4_cfrlg/s400/spring2.jpg) |
Pink Dogwood |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkuX3lqCrNyP_JJicvgUk6XJTSP14YqSxEwU3LbA-MfgRo4OADTeDEbZSxdA-R4aGzm20x5VhEnyvCPnmy6bVuqBeWA0s6GTcFyqYPV8_r4mch7_5B_bU4TFO8GfuYzMkFI7-jO5F2A/s400/spring3.jpg) |
Dogwood |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCC2ZXmxCvcMVlMJJParFeiTQ22zaMzF9xbn-EDB-K0LKG7-3NHGMwpYYpB927BIyOHBy7SRKPWzjv4K5PozPhBmRoOFYOpzijnoYMHqm9A314RqGBc41aeYzjx9iA1vpJ_EmwmEg3A/s400/spring4.jpg) |
Dogwood |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWyG1CzKEonobE2E7l5Y_rBziL76hyphenhyphen7m1p0BlMxDRJN-5H3cmKKXrFkNn37KeeLdkFy0hG4Gikaqzi4tjKhPGUYr-tKrWMGmJZ3gcAS6YtBK6TgfQ8CJ5n1ElsqOGUpAxjr9dwJRT5w/s400/spring5.jpg) |
Wisteria |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2If0yDdNOHv0il-yP_4gTGiqXu3rTSkk4HI8Kgy-xZbNoFg7Kui9kURFbAj7eszBQ9iKdgHR1xEjJzAIUmXtK4jx96CrKphgzRT4loCuy0vqsQdP2iWJkZbiktZtPJPFtHw43viINg/s400/spring6.jpg) |
Loropetalum |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiua0t2egx0grCUF6dt9JIooDS8h6hGGGFItkFqaiUnVH1MhXJCEud_oS2G6LOSsC69iA2rvjAxwkUw77Y7MAkzdcLEdOj1j_GqDTshIPjaXAOn3w-Vwh6-rrmr-8AG4jT5cd9A0sZ7bw/s400/spring7.jpg) |
This looks a lot like Lily of the Valley, but the blooms are more elongated. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQq79REWdKUmvNfqXr9J1eeDWL2kOnR0i9zDvMeqZ30_GKqdtEgYloyh7kK_nPzyq5dWLEmkuZwhExz6t1sCMRDJ__BSum-zb1aGkUwVO5gCq7Pe5aK9ruOU6MzinyYIs6yMlCOfSBA/s400/spring8.jpg) |
Money Plant (Lunaira anna) is in the mustard family |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJYjKyB36bPGKF7yPMGLVXFBSzqIGiAy4eVw2-XmqVrtGF7YkplESUJf6vM9USHGN7nP2s-VFfYRRPZlkeZPMqI6WdONGmDIB7zKM-PjvlIhiyB0UBBpkQt_-OhdGopSDvunWaF9YVQ/s400/spring9.jpg) |
Weeping Cherry |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmZMsTf3SvyhLn8xIqe-_If8Cpj2Zz82G4RAYDAuBKsLpLH-GozW21ehEAXsOdUiENGx4GxXw06IAg-P0IYgIWFY48rKtEkRIALyO1uyrqMNpTtooEtXo82yC4eoYFVZTBMWdVSu1AQ/s400/whiteViolets500.jpg) |
Violet |
Take some time this week to slow down and take a close look at what is going on in nature around you. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere and are not seeing much springiness going on yet, just wait … it’s coming!