State Flower of Oregon

Lovely sunshine for a little while this morning, but it turned into a great day to come inside and work in the office. Now all bills are paid, all business expenses coded and all papers files. I feel a bit more organized again.  :-)) That is the advantage of a rainy day.

This photo is of the Oregon grape tiny yellow flowers; most of the bushes had bright green leaves, but this one had these beautiful red shiny leaves. I lived the contrast of the red and yellow with the green of the grass and glare of the lake. I am going to add a paragraph I found on the internet about this bush. I thought this is interesting:

Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) is a shrub native to much of the Pacific coast and and is also found sparsely east of the Cascades. Its year-round foliage of pinnated, waxy green leaves resembles holly.and resists wilting (the foliage is sometimes used by florists for greenery).
The Oregon grape plant bears dainty yellow flowers in early summer and a dark blue berry that ripens late in the fall. The fruit is tart and bitter, containing large seeds, but can be used in cooking (it's used to make jelly locally). The inner bark of the larger stems and roots of Oregon grape can be used to make a yellow dye. Oregon grape root is also used medicinally.

Sounds like Oregon grape can be quite useful; but here it is early Spring and it is already blooming.......it must be early this year.