We're still adjusting our perceptions, interpretive views of the landscapes and becoming accustomed to the wholesale changes that have taken place in the last week alone. The forest is brimming with new life. When we're walking along the trails looking into the forest we're surrounded by a green, living aura that was so long absent over the frigidly beautiful all-encompassingwhite-cast of the winter months.

Foliage has erupted so swiftly it's taken us by surprise. Surprise? One might imagine that to be impossible, given how many springs we have enjoyed. Despite which spring is always a surprise, with its many and varied gifts. Although our two little dogs appear to take these changes for granted, adjusting to the changes in light, temperature and all 'round conditions with no signs of perturbation, appreciation and excitement, much less puzzlement, it is left to us to exhibit all of these symptoms.

Spring, by contrast, knows exactly what it wants to do; take every conceivable advantage of its all-too-brief opportunity to sweep up and tidy what winter has left behind, and to install all the elements of flora entitlements that nature guarantees. Yesterday afternoon, as we have done for the past several days, we  looked for the presence of Jack-in-the-Pulpits emerging on the forest floor to take their pride-of-place in the landscape. They erupt overnight as tender, immature plants, some already with their flower in place, others yet to display it.

Because they're young, they are delicate and small, but in the course of a short few days will become larger, the floral petal more prominent, the hidden purple-and-cream stripes on the petal's interior more visible, and reign ever so briefly, for us, as springtime wildflower royalty.

Some trilliums are still emerging, while those flowerheads of the ones that had popped up earlier are beginning to fade, even while the plant itself grows more robust. Foamflower has matured and is now in full flower, and the trout lilies are still putting out their flowerheads, randomly and few in number. For the violets, white, yellow, purple and mauve, it's a different story; each little violet plant is certain to put out at least one delightful little bloom and more frequently multiples. Wild strawberries are profuse and flowering.

A sunny, cooler day with a lovely breeze, we decided after our walk to  go along to another plant nursery outlet and there increase the number of plants we intend to place in our garden pots and gardens. I can never resist another hosta, even though it's so easy to divide and replant those we already have. I stored the canna and calla lilies that bloomed for us last year in the basement to overwinter them for replanting, but bought a few more anyway. And wave petunias; we can never have too many.