Plum Cherry Blossoms
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Fabulous Seasonal #Florals

Weather permitting, spring (or fall) seems to be in the air as we say goodbye to the last full weekend in April.

I say weather-permitting because just last Sunday (Easter) we got a dusting of snow overnight. As we walked out of an early church service, I commented to my hubby that this was the coldest Easter I have EVER experienced. I blame that fact on most of my years of living in both Southern and Northern California, when, by mid-April, temperatures can get well into the 80s (Fahrenheit).

I wasn’t the only one: Anne of Horse Addict experienced quite the snow event herself! She did manage to share some pretty spring florals before the afternoon blizzard got the best of the blooms! The image below gives you an idea of what an unexpected mountain snowstorm can do to the unsuspecting flowers!

Daffodils in the snow
Unhappy frozen daffodils

“It is deep winter with shivering cold air, but my heart is dancing with joy and spring flowers.” ― Debasish Mridha.

This week, despite the rain and unsettled weather — think sunny skies one minute, then hail the next, a normal spring pattern for Washington’s Inland Northwest — I managed to capture a few local florals. Today is expected to be 65 degrees(F)!

Our Backyard in April

In my own backyard and around my rural neighborhood, I enjoy walking my dogs and watching the spring unfold into a variety of wildflowers. Spring gets a slower start here since we live in an Alpine environment, compared to a mere 25 miles away in Spokane Valley where spring is farther ahead.

“When you smell a spring flower, it’s as if the soul of that flower settles inside you! And then you become that flower for a short time!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

Soon, my backyard will be full of these wild sunflowers: arrowleaf balsamroot. They are popping up as volunteers all over and can be found amidst the pine trees along the highway.

Emerging Arrowleaf Balsamroot Sunflower
Emerging Arrowleaf Sunflower
Arrowleaf Balsamroot wild sunflower
Arrowleaf Balsamroot wild sunflower
Arrowleaf Balsamroot
Arrowleafs at their peak by June

My baby trees are showing the beginnings of blooms. This is quaking aspen. We also have red maples, ash, and willow that were planted last fall.

Emerging Quaken Aspen Buds
Emerging Quaking Aspen Buds

Daffodils planted by neighbors, as well as wild crocus are in bloom now. I don’t remember seeing the wild crocus during our first spring last year, so these are a treat.

Mountain Daffodil2
Mountain Daffy
Field of wild crocus
Wild crocus
Purple Autumn Crocus
Wild Autumn Crocus

Humorous Hubby

Put my husband in front of the camera and you never know what reaction you will get, especially around flowers. His cheeky grin tells me he loved the hydrangeas in Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel. But when he put my bouquet on his head at our wedding reception, well…

Stop-To-Smell-Flowers
Hubby checking out flowers at Ahwahnee Hotel
Wedding bouquet
Aternative way to wear a wedding bouquet

The Gift of Flowers

My generous and lovely sister-in-law always has gifts for the ladies at her luncheons. Last year she gave me a pot of tulips. The same tulip bulbs are struggling but there is hope!

pink tulip 2021
2021 Tulip
a tulip emerges
Emerging Tulip 2022

On Easter Sunday she gave floral gifts, this time, hydrangeas! I’m super excited because I miss mine that I rehomed before we moved here. These are all in the house next to a sunny window until these freezing night temps warm up!

hydrangea gift
New hydrangea to love!

At the Store

In search of more fabulous florals for this week’s challenge, I stopped at a home store and checked out the garden center.

What looked like fields of pansies caught my eye as well as this poppy anemone.

Pansy Field
Pansy Field
Poppy Anemone
Poppy Anemone

I also stopped to gawk at the blooming trees and captured this gorgeous cherry plum blossom.

Plum Cherry Blossoms

I found this quote that seems to commemorate the onset of spring, by Scottish Poet James Thompson:

“Gather the rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a flying; And that same flower that blooms today, tomorrow shall be dying.”

I have hope and faith that flowers will continue to bloom just as vibrant and fragrant as ever.

Photo Challenges this Week

Each week I am inspired by my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I find it fun to incorporate these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

Sunday Stills weekly challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post to this one.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL into the comments.

May themes are published on my Sunday Stills page.

This Week’s Featured Bloggers

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their fabulous florals. I edit these all week as new links are added.

I am excited to see all your fabulous florals this week! As Robin Williams said, “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party’!” Join me next week as we explore the theme “Emerging.”

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126 comments

  2. Lovely ode to spring and its flowers Terri. I’m thinking you may be missing your CA weather at the moment. Fear not, you’ll learn to appreciate warmth more than ever before, as well as the flowers that come with it! Loved your images, especially the beautiful opener.

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    • Thank you, Tina! Warm weather is here and we take advantage of it for sure. We spent most of Saturday outdoors and I even got started painting my totem pole. Then of course, dark clouds piled up for a few minutes as they tend to do in the mountains!

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  7. That is one thing that we don’t see much here in the desert, and that’s flowers. Except right now with the cactus blooming which is beautiful.
    And let me say I don’t miss that kind of spring. In Denver, April was one of our snowiest months, haha!!
    THanks for the shout out and love the hubby photos.
    XOOX
    Jodie
    http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
    PS. I didn’t even think about the fact that I wore so many florals last week.

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    • Thank you, Graham! Spring is quite the transformation from winter, especially this year! If it wasn’t for the parade of wildflowers, I wouldn’t have much. Our local (literally down the street) nursery/farm opens next weekend so we are anxious to see what he has growing that we can plant soon!

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  15. Minus the snow dust, your spring looks gorgeous. Hans is so funny! Hydrangeas on his head at your wedding. No wonder you both have so much fun. I love John’s comment though! hahaha he is so funny!

    I was thrilled to find some irises when I photographed downtown Prescott last week. What fun was that! I captured some emerging buds from a Redbud Tree at the Museum of Indigenous People. I’m taking a break from WQW and PPAP for two weeks. Sunday Stills and Cell Pic will have to stand on their own without a WQW post to link to. I’m going to miss it. I feel like I’m leaving my kids alone without a babysitter for the first time, LOL. Talk to you soon. 🙂

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    • Spring is coming along, Marsha! It is already a nice warm day! After I walk the dogs I’m off to paint more on my totem! Glad you are taking a little break. It’s time to get outside and shake the winter off our shoes.

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  23. Terri,
    Our weather is warming up–spring doesn’t last very long here. We’re past the average date for freezing temperatures, so I am planting tomatoes for the first time in three years since we will be home. Our wildflowers are mostly behind us, but I am loving yours, and hydrangeas are one of my faves. Although our wildflowers are gone, our azaleas are thriving and that is my contribution for the week. Please post a totem pole pic. Have a great week! Joe

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    • Thank you, Bernie! I’m happy to see you here! I took the frozen daffy pic years ago at a conference center is Lake Tahoe. The snow melted hours later and they were still hanging in there. Here in Spokane, WA, spring is here, but our area has a slower start since we are further north and a little higher in elevation.

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  40. Wow!
    Such a brightly wonderful bouquet of spring you have shared, Terri.
    If you are experience chills in your town, then mine is warming up quite a bit. Early this April, mercury crossed above 104°F in my town, which was expected but not before June.
    And looking at your hubby’s snaps, the one with your wedding bouquet, reminded me about a local politician in my country, who bears a striking resemblance with your hubby. You can check the photos yourself, if you want to: https://www.google.com/search?q=khawaja+saad+rafique&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi32IfLlK_3AhVDNRoKHQqODj4Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=khsaad+rafique&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeMgYIABAHEB46BAgAEEM6BQgAEIAEUJ0UWKMWYLAnaABwAHgAgAH0AYgBvQSSAQUwLjIuMZgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=w4xmYvfqHcPqaIqcuvAD&bih=625&biw=1366&rlz=1C1CHBF_enPK866PK869

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    • Thank you Hammad! Ooooh, that sounds so hot already, Hammad! We get warm here too and 2021 summer was HOT for Spokane (got to 111F a couple of days, not to mention the wildfires). OMG, I clicked your link and my hubby does bear a strong resemblance to Saad Rafique!! My husband is German and Chilean.

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  41. Hi Terri, I am envious of your Hydrangeas. I grew up with them in our yard in North Florida, but try as I might, I can’t get them to grow in South Florida. Best of luck with them. That cherry plum blossom is a show stopper.

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  42. I’m hoping the chill this April is an anomaly, Terri. I just can’t wait for the flowers to burst out, and I get the sense that you are ready to revel in some glorious color. Beautiful photos, and get ready for the heat. Lol. Hugs.

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  46. Beautiful Terri. Finally getting mine finished. I babysat and then was a bit under the weather. Those frozen daffodils are crazy. Our weather has been really weird here too. I’m ready for more consistency. I also love the balsam root (there are a few hiking spots that are really popular in the late spring because these are in full bloom). The wild crocus is cool too. I’ve always loved crocus. It’s crazy how just a few miles away can change when things bloom. We have friends that live about 10 minutes east of us at a higher elevation and their flowers bloom at different times than ours.
    https://troyerslovinglife.blogspot.com/2022/04/taking-in-life-around.html

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  48. Gorgeous array of flowers Terri. Seems like we’re having same crazy weather. And it’s always the flowers that suffer when they are fooled by nice weather then get snowed upon. 🙂 x

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  58. A beautiful collection of blossoms and buds Terri and the frozen Daffodil was especially lovely. We head an especially cold Easter, then two inches of snow the following day. A handful of days later found us in the 80s. Today a wintry mix and “real feel” of 20. I decided to forego a walk and catch up here instead.

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    • Thank you, Linda! Goodness, what a dumping of snow on and near Easter so many folks are talking about! And then the 80’s for you? Wow, what a swing! We had rain all morning yesterday but I managed to get a short walk with the pups in the afternoon. I can handle the cold but not the cold wind. Thanks for stopping by!

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  64. I love the unpredictability of spring, Terri. It can be sunny and warm one day, and the next, you can be shivering and digging out your winter clothes again.

    I’ll be honest and say I’m not a lover of flowers, especially cut flowers in homes. I believe they should be left in the garden. Therefore, I include a flower display with a difference. I’m thinking out of the box again.

    I must have used this photo for a Sunday Stills theme before because it’s tagged SundayStills in my media library.

    Hans’ humour shines out with those flowers on his head. Enjoy all the new life popping up around you in your part of the world.

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