Spring mysteries

City streets are full of mysteries in spring, when people and plants come out of hibernation. Walk far enough on any spring day, and you’re likely to see something curious. Here are some of the things I’ve noticed in recent weeks that made me ask, “What? Why?”

All winter, the bathtub lady -- now apparently a permanent street installation -- wore a classy pair of white figure skates. This spring she morphed into a mermaid with a puffy checked blue tail...

...an unusual chest decoration and a fish she's either talking to or planning to eat. Once you accept the oddity of this street display with its seasonal changes, the mystery is, why a mermaid? Why the fish?

On this rather ratty boulevard, spotted with only a few uncared-for plants, were these signs in one direction...

...and this in the other. The mystery is, what plants were stolen? There are no holes or soil disturbances indicating any were ever there.  The signs are homemade, but took some effort and have a feel of semi-permanence. What is going on here?

A view of the boulevard the signs were on. Walk a little farther, and the adjoining boulevard is full of new plants, just dug in. 

Here's the adjacent property. Do the sign-waving neighbours (see the sign in  the distance down the street) think some of this abundant display was uprooted from their yard? So many questions, but no one to ask.

When these trees with luscious purple blooms began showing up all over the city a few years ago, it took me awhile to figure out what they were. They turned out to be Empress, Princess or Foxglove trees -- pick the name you like. They are also apparently tremendously fast growers, tolerant of terrible conditions, and a menace to the ecosystem because they spread like, well, foxgloves.

But aren't they pretty? The mystery is why anything so gorgeous is also a weed.

This is a wisteria, just down the street from the Princess tree. I took the photo because the blossoms were the same colour, but grew down instead of up. Another mystery of nature.

We're back to the signs, but different ones in a different spot. What is it with these home-made signs and people stealing from each other's yards? Also, the "personality" issue is a bit mysterious, but perhaps it's a translation thing.

The second sign in that same yard, also warning about the impact of stealing. Nobody has ever stolen any of my plants (maybe they aren't worth it), so I'm mystified by this outbreak of warning signs. 

Red rhodos, purple clematis, and dead tree trunks -- why is this one of the prettiest things I saw on my whole walk that day? 

It's probably the contrast between the rough dead bark and the fertile lushness of the new spring growth. Death and life -- the mystery of the seasons.