2021 NH Spring/SH Fall Photo Thread (spoilers please!)

Not many people seem to enjoy the overcast 6°C weather. Philistines.









Spot the intruder 

The snow adds some really nice contrast against the rocks and the open water. There were some snow showers the day before so any snow covered surfaces had fresh, extra bright snow on them (since the snow only settled where there was already snow).


Non-native conifers at the arboretum. Though they kinda just look like the normal Norwegian Spruce.


This rhododendron doesn't seem to have taken the extreme snow amounts this winter very well.


This one managed better


Rapids


I love the last-year's grass of spring


The arboretum part of the area is a lot more interesting once the leaves have sprung...


Fire. The sausages we grilled were vegan. Pretty expensive, and not the best consistency, but the taste was pretty good. Very nice weather. Blue dome sky, about 8'C, and barely any wind.


Thought this was a nice photo of the dog until I took notice of his nether region.


Dog on the river. Wouldn't have ventured out on the ice myself, but there were fresh footsteps from a person on the ice so I guess it was kinda fine I suppose...


These hills in the background look so much more hilly in real life lol


Eventually we left the fire and ventured into the woodier parts of the arboretum.


This particular part was supposed to contain trees from NW America, so it was mostly conifers and so it didn't matter as much that all deciduous vegetation was dormant. These were douglas fir IIRC.


And on the upside, the lack of leaves meant you got a better view.



Also adds nice lighting





Mud.


Then we went to take in the vista over the rapids.






WoW-streamer for scale. I'm sure many of you recognize this place very clearly since it's my favorite excursion destination and I've posted many pictures from here. It's also my favorite place for swimming/playing in the water. In summer it's like a water park with a myriad of pools, small waterfalls etc. with really warm water due to the rocks and shallow water. Last June the water reached 26-28'C in the pools, with maybe 21-24'C in the more free flowing part of the river. Some very small pools could reach well into the 30's.


Sunset, still no signs of any clouds. 19:26


Much less snow in the city. Dusk at 20:50




SMHI's snow map has had a green dot over Umeå for like a week now. The snow station by the southern fields (more exposed to winds, tends to melt quicker) started recorded 0cm on the 8th of April.

From space Umeå does appear as a spot of less snow, but large fields don't appear quite snow-free yet. (Image from yesterday)

Large puddle


Very springy looking (Umean standards)


I think Umeå appears smallish on pictures because there's usually some kind of forestry every couple kilometers or so. You might think those tall buildings in the background (the ones visible from my balcony) are near the edge of the city, but they're only about a third of the way to the city limits from the center. If you look closely you can see a crane in the far distance.


Ice sheets. Those tall buildings in the far background are only about 1/4 or 1/5 of the way to the city limits from the center.


Nice low-sun lighting





Snow's pretty much completely gone from the fields to the south. The shiny spots are water, not ice/snow.



Muddy biking


Air's kinda hazy, at least around the more urban areas. We use sand and gravel instead of salt on pedestrian/bike paths, and in spring these need to be cleaned away which stirs a lot of dust.


More golden hour shots


Western side of the city. This field isn't quite large enough to be completely melted yet (larger fields are windier which means snow melts quicker). Also a frost hollow.


Still not completely covered with snow.




Fishers. Very clear snow amount difference between the north and south side of the river.


Wood anemone and some fresh green spring grass


And this is where my battery died.