NEW BAMBOO ... AND A FEW SURPISES

Signs of Spring abound lately.  The flowering of many trees , as well as the rapid development of their leaves, is giving the landscape the colors that make us forget of the grays & browns of Winter past.

Like clock work, with day length becoming longer & the warming of the earth, the bamboo on my property is sending it's annual new shoots upward.  The rapid growth -- sometimes more than a foot per day -- is occurring right outside my front door.

The new Black Bamboo shoots are much lighter in color & will soon turn green.  Throughout the the Summer the bamboo will darken to a black color, thus it's name.

The new shoots of bamboo emerge from the soil with the width they will retain their whole life.  Once the full height is obtained, the bamboo will get no bigger, & each years growing cycle will only replace leaves & never gain in size.

Some "Spring Surprises" included this nice bloom on one of my Cattleya orchids.  I label it a "surprise" since it's flowering caught me off guard, as the orchid plant was nestled in with a number of plants which spent the Winter on the side porch under grow-lights.

When it comes to my cats, there are few surprises, but still they come up with something out of the ordinary every so often.  One of those times was yesterday morning.

Nibblets was laying on the kitchen floor, very much enthralled by something next to the trash basket. She often will bat around a piece of dry cat food to amuse herself.  When I moved the basket to the middle of the floor to see what Miss Nibs was so interested in, (above photo) I got another "surprise".

This baby snake was the reason for the interest by Nibblets.  It was curled up on the floor, no doubt, fearing the worst from the inquiring cat. I have no idea how/when the snake got in the house. If one of the cats brought it into the house, they concealed it well, as most every time they return indoors, I am there inspect them & give their fur a brushing.

I took the small snake to the fence line in my yard, where there was ample vegetation for it to hide & resume it's life ... outdoors.

Just another of the "Surprises of Spring".