6 may 12 unexpected color

Until the deciduous trees leaf out, the Alaska spring landscape is a study of browns and grays with the muted green of the spruce.  Flowering bulbs can be found in the warm places near buildings, but the wilder places are almost colorless.  So this bright patch of green and red caught me by surprise when we were looking for birds near Talkeetna recently.  The pond we were walking around is known as Hugo's Pond for the homesteader who dammed up a small creek that flows from here into Sunshine Creek.  Springs also feed the pond so it becomes ice free earlier than other lakes and ponds in the area.  These plants (I don't know what they are) are growing on rocks in one of those springs on the pond's perimeter.  I put aside my curiosity about the shorebirds on the other side of the pond to explore this unexpected vibrancy in the otherwise dull landscape.