Southern Alberta spring is transient.

Nutmeg likes to call it the Spring Tease.

You might be tempted to clean off the deck, haul out the garden furniture and make an assessment of the damage winter did to the yard. You may even take your bike out for a spin, careful to avoid the gravel left over from the icy days. There could be an opportunity to sneak in an early season golf game.

Don’t put away your warm clothes yet!

These are the few weeks a year, when multi-sport enthusiasts can ski and golf in the same day, although you may be warmer skiing.

Last week the daytime temperatures in the Bow Valley hovered around 7C (45F) and Lady MacDonald was crowned with a fresh dusting of the white stuff.

Nutmeg reflected once again, that there really are places in the world, where flowers are blooming by this time.

A touch of red

or a field of red.

Le coquelicot or coquelico is the French name for the red poppy flower that grows wild in fields throughout the country.

The first time Nutmeg had a chance to see a field of poppies was from a train window many years ago.

A friend who lives in les Alpilles near St Remy sent this photo, taken last week.

The poppy following almond tree flowers and mimosa is one of the sure signs that spring has settled in Provence and summer is not far away.

The funny thing about fields of poppies is they are visually striking yet photographs never quite do them justice.

Famous painters such as Claude Monet, on the other hand, did a pretty decent job in 1873 of recording the beautiful fields in his famous painting “Les Coquelicots” or “Poppies Blooming.” This photo courtesy of Wikipedia:

Nutmeg still has her winter coat near on.

Please send comments and photos of flowers from your part of the world!

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Food Travel Tags:
Banff National Park, Canmore Alberta, Flowers in France, French Poppies, Monet Paintings, Provence Travel, Travel Alberta