Ice cream cone swiping squirrel on the National Mall

The squirrels on the National Mall are so bold. A few weeks back I was afraid one of 'em would come right at me as I was taking his photo. Fast-forward a couple of weeks and we were sitting on a bench enjoying the beautiful weather and we watched this squirrel jump into a nearby trash can, crab a cone, jump down and scurry into the grass to eat it. It was really funny to watch.

Here are some shots of the cone-swiping critter -

Lovely magnolias at the George Mason Memorial, Washington DC

Every year one of the things on my "must do" list is to go see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin, I can usually get there at least once during the peak. For the past couple of years, as part of my journey around the Tidal Basin, I like to stop by the George Mason Memorial and see the magnolias and forsythias in bloom. I always think the colors are so beautifully contrasted between the two.  For the past two years, they've coincided with the blossoms which is a bonus.

Some views from this year's showing: 

I just loved the way this one came out.

A magnolia carpet

Magnolia petals were falling everywhere, it was so pretty

Some of the magnolia trees had yet to bloom

Getting ready to pass its peak

 

Washington DC's famed cherry blossom peaks 2016

The cherry blossom peaks are, hands down, my favorite time of year here in the Washington D.C. region. Last week the blossoms peaked around the Tidal Basin and 2016's showing did not disappoint. Today's post I wanted to focus on some closeup images.
 
(More photos can be found on my Washington D.C. blog which shows the peak viewing from more of a landscape perspective).

My first daffodil of 2016

Spring is almost sprung! Over the past two weeks Northern Virginia is beginning to see lots of color. To date the crocus have come (and are almost gone) and the daffodils, hyacinths and even the magnolias have all come back to life.

Today's photos are from my yard - our first daffodil of the year bloomed last week.

Taken March 15, 2016 after some rain

First photo of the year

Saturation stripped out to highlight the water drops

Barns spotted along I-81

I love it on the trips where I can spend some time being the passenger instead of driving. It gives me the chance to take some photos of the sights I admire when traveling along certain routes. One route we frequently take is I-81 through Virginia.

Today's photos are barns spotted along I-81, one of them I think was off the highways at the Buchanan, Va. exit. I just love these structures.

This squirrel freaked me out - he had no fear whatsoever

On Sunday we spent a good part of the day down in D.C. We arrived in the early morning before any of the museums opened and decided to see what critters and birds we could spot. This one squirrel was standing on top of a trash can and I missed the shot. So I tried to capture this little fella after he jumped off and he walked to me.

Not only did he start walking towards me, he kept getting closer and closer until he was about two to three feet away and he was still coming. I suddenly had visions of that squirrel that jumped out of the Christmas tree at the Griswold household (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation if you haven't seen it - YouTube clip). 

I skirted away, but not before taking a few pics. The first two are a little blurry.

Hoping for spring! More crocus blooms

Last week our first crocus spotting occurred. Now, a week later, they've multiplied quite a bit. On Sunday it was a gorgeous 68 degrees when we came home from a trip down to Washington DC and the crocus we had in our yard had really bloomed significantly in just one day.

A few photos - working on macro shots that day: