I was very pleasantly surprised when I found this Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) blooming on my last hike near Watermelon Pond. This is generally an early springtime flower and I suspect it had simply started to bloom a little early. At that point, we had been having pretty mild winter weather (and we still are), so the plant may have felt like it was spring. There weren’t a lot of flowers, but the ones that were there were very healthy and colorful. I saw it as a perfect opportunity to try out the macro lens for my new camera, and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed.