Spring Around the House

Look at the pictures below. They were taken six days ago. Only six days.

In that time, during which temperatures have been in the mid-to-high seventies every day, Tennessee has turned green before my eyes. I took some pictures on my property to share with the world how beautiful this is. (It goes without saying, I guess, that this is my first spring with a digital camera.)
Jenny planted these tulips last year around our anniversary. They are coming up along the wall that separates our driveway from the yard. You can see our ivy-dressed garage in the background.

Dogwood and redbud trees are the most colorful in Tennessee during the spring. Our property is just covered with them. There is a pair growing at the end of our driveway (above left). I tried to get an up-close picture of the dogwood flowers so you could see how beautiful they are.

A final gift of spring is that violets have just taken over our yard in about five places. These aren't the humble, plain purple violets, either. They are luxurious, proud two-toned purple violets. It's amazing. I love seeing them, but I'm scared to step or mow around my place because of how beautiful these things are.

Robyn & Meg, if you have any tips for bringing out more contrast on digital photos, I'd appreciate it. The distance pics of the trees just don't doo justice to the sight, but the close-ups turned out well.