Puppy Flower!

Ahh, springtime. The scratchy eyes, sneezing, itchy nose, sinus headaches...the annoyance of having to show my ID every time I pick up more Claritin-D from Duane Reade (darn methamphetamine users ruin it for everyone). The only consolation is, well, the absolute beauty of all that stuff in bloom, and frankly it makes me feel badly for even complaining about the pollen embedded in my contact lenses.

Central Park in springtime is as beautiful as you can imagine. There is such a variety of plants and flowers blooming, and there's even an official bloom schedule for those of you dedicated foliage fans who would be heartbroken if you missed the Grape Hyacinth's coming out party in May.

Ella was a great sport this morning and patiently posed beside any blooming tree, plant, or flower I could find.

DISCLAIMER: It's safe to assume that any attempts I make below to identify the blooming flower, plant, or tree in the photos below are INCORRECT as I don't know a daisy from a daffodil.

Here goes nothin'...

Umm...crabapple? Anyone? I'm stumped. Ella looks awfully adorable though, don't you think?

Hmm, french lilacs maybe? But aren't they bushes, not trees? God, i have no idea. I love the color purple though. Whoopi was so good in that film.

Here we are in The Ramble, looking out over the eastern side of The Lake adjacent to the Loeb Boathouse, with Bethesda Terrace visible in the background. She had just finished chasing some ducks back into The Lake so, feeling quite smug, was happy to take a rest and enjoy the scenery. No blooming flowers in this one. And i'm not even going to attempt to identify the trees in the background. Let's see - green leaves, brown bark...yep, definitely trees. Definitely.

And last but not least, here she is lying in a sea of fallen blossoms (cherry blossoms I think? i should know this...i grew up near Washington D.C....it's not like I've never seen cherry blossoms before)...