Spring Flowers at the Provo City Center Temple

I spent some time on the grounds of the Provo City Center Temple this afternoon.

The grounds are exquisite.

Tulips are still in bloom.

I counted four large beds of strawberries.

It's appropriate that both of Provo's temples have pink roses.

I stood a little west of this planter to capture mountains in the background.

Then I stepped a few feet north and captured this background.

I like the combination of blue and white.

This combination of the same colors was enchanting!

The flowers seem to attract bees.

My camera was in fine form.

These pink flowers looked plastic, but they were growing out of the ground.

I seem to be running into mushrooms more often, lately.

Please notice the bee!

Roses at the Temple

The roses at the Provo Temple are in bloom.

The lilies are just beginning to peek out.

Higher River

Ben and I walked back to the river tonight.

I will confess that I was a little teary this morning, but I was ok tonight.

This much water is just a little scary.

As I looked at this morning's pictures, I noticed a stone in the base of this trunk.

I took a closer look tonight.  I thought maybe the river had washed it in.

I could not bedge the stone at all and decided the roots had grown around it.

This is the northern tip of an island.

The southern tip, where our grandchildren often play, is underneath these waves.

My understanding is that the snowmelt is higher than expected, so the powers that be felt a need to increase the runoff from the dam.  This log might end up back in the river.

Typically, this is a delightful place to walk.  Not today.

There is still a lot of snow in the mountains.

A family of Kildeer lives nearby.  They must have a nest, because he and two associates went to a lot of trouble to distract us.  

On the other hand, these two mushrooms were pretty quiet.

High River

Ben and I walked to the river this morning.
A year of heavy snow means the river is very high.

We encountered some adventurous people.  Notice the tree behind the kayak.

I suppose I don't need to point out that trees don't grow in the river.

The river is often a very peaceful place.

My son and these two grandkids were near this spot last summer.  This bank is currently way under water.

An EMT fireman knocked on our door yesterday, warning us about the high water.  He doesn't want kids this close to the river right now.  But of course, last summer was different than this summer.

If your eyes are good enough to see the chicken wire, I'll explain that it generally keeps the beavers away.  I didn't see beavers today.

I did see this duck who was very busy eating. His beak never surfaced.

The water from the dam was stopped for several hours yesterday so crews could pull logs from the river.

Unfortunately, this is like painting the Golden Gate Bridge.

These trunks have been in the water for a long time.

This spot is a wonderful place to take kids.  Notice the rocks and the island

This is the exact spot today.  The rocks aren't even visible.  Neither is the island, except that bushy tree is on the island.

It was a little frightening for me to remember this scene from last summer.

This snail moved out of the way.

On my way home, I spied a noisy Kildeer.

Beautiful Dogwood was oblivious to the high water.

Setting the river aside, it is a lovely day.

Coy Hummingbirds

The sprinklers for my flowers need occasional attention.

The hummingbirds are back, but I have not yet been able to time their activity with sunlight.

One chose to grab a drink while I waited for the sprinklers to come on.  However, the little drinking spout he chose was not the one I would have picked for him.  Look closely -- you can see his wing on the right.

While waiting for the sprinklers, I took pictures of my recently planted flowers.

This is the same problem I had last summer.  I can see the hummingbirds, but my camera can't quite focus on them.  This is a worthy goal: learn how to teach my camera there's a bird there.