Best face forward

So, there's a photo contest at "life is too short not to wear red shoes," and it's just too good to pass up. The theme is portraits. I don't do many of these, but I would love to do them more often. Below are my two favorites!

The Budding of a Flower

There's a flowering tree that I pass pretty much every morning on my way to classes. Each morning I had to stop and document yet another development in the budding of its flowers.

First, came the soft-as-cotton buds:

Then, they began to open:

And get bigger...

Until they were beautiful white flowers:

And the whole tree was fragrant with white blooms:

But then, the rains come...

Shredding the flowers

Leaving the petals crushed and fallen by the roadside...

 And yet, there will always be more beauty:

(color, or b&w? I can't decide)

Blue Skies

Spring has still been slow in coming, with weather varying from mildly warm to bitter cold (with both snow and rain). But one thing I've come to realize here in Ohio is that one of the first signs of Spring is not flowers or new grass, but blue skies. All winter long the sky is hidden by an oppressive blanket of snow-gray. Only once the clouds begin to recede and the brilliant blue peeks through once more do you know that Spring is almost here.

 A blue sky equals a blue lake, and this is especially interesting when the lake was still slightly frozen over.

See the difference between the two shades of blue in the water? That's the line between the receding ice (which thankfully is all gone now), and the water. It certainly gives an interesting effect!

Even wet parking lots turn blue in the twilight.

Hopefully all predictions prove true, and we get real Spring weather soon. I'm definitely ready for it!