The first wildflowers show tentative blooms, and soon nature trails will burst with colour and scent of new growth.
The very word ‘April’ is from the Latin ‘aperire’, meaning ‘to open,’ a reference to buds opening in spring.
Before launching into full April mode, let’s look back on the icy wonders of March.
I first wrote about ice blossoms (scientifically known as ‘crystallofolia’) in “Finding fanciful frost freaks” on March 12, including a photo contest…and entries filled my inbox. Brenna Williams captured a perfectly round ice blossom (photo, right), winning herself a signed copy of my local trail guide: Nature Campbell River. Congrats Brenna, on your gorgeous photo.
Heather Parker captured second place for her snapshot of an entire tree trunk bursting with frosty flowers. Heather advises she’d never seen this phenomenon until moving to Campbell River two years ago, and she’s been “fascinated with it ever since.” She found her lovely frost formations in Willow Creek Park. Heather says she has “shown the photos to many friends who lived here for years and never realized what they were looking at and how these beautiful blossoms formed.”
Henry Grierson snapped a fine-looking frost ball, earning him honourable mention.
wildernesswest@shaw.ca.