Its starts with 'S' and its here (finally)!

Sticky orange gold cottonwood bracts stick to shoes and the air is permeated by the bitter tang of the cottonwood's emerging vibrant foliage. A dozen bird species tweet, whistle, chirp, buzz and chatter filling the sun dappled woodlands with their courtship, territorial warnings and alarms. The forest floor is blanketed thickly with a fairy tale-like lush carpet of false lily-of-the-valley on the cusp of bloom. Here and there bleeding hearts are visited by the odd hummingbird. Today, I give you  pictures of spring.
Indian Plum and willow blossoms

Horsetail and bigleaf maple inflorescence emerging

Point Whitehorn Marine Preserve, 54 acres of forest and lots of rocky beach

 The Olympics? What other mountains would you see looking west over the ocean?

 Adult male Rufous hummingbird

Lady fern, a nurse log hosting (among other things) more false lily of the valley

 Two color morphs of bleeding hearts

Salmonberry beginning to bloom, and a gooseberry/currant of some kind!

Black twinberry, just opening up its tubtastic flowers

 Sword fern and new red alder leaves

Stonefly adult, docile as can be

 A couple ornamentals in the garden at work are getting their bloom on too!

In the parking lot at the preserve there was an enormous red flowering currant which drew numerous hummingbirds; there were three on it at once at one point. Happy Sunday!