Early In May

Apple bud eaten by deer

Spring in northern Vermont begins after the last snowstorm and before the first black flies. It is when you walk your land to see what was damaged or has died and what is growing. There may be something new growing on your land or you may notice that it will be a good year for one species of plant. Early in May we saw how every apple bud up to five feet up on the trees has been eaten by the deer this winter. Apple picking will be a bit difficult this fall!

The fiddlehead of the interrupted fern (Osmunda claytonia)

The grove of interrupted ferns on the bank of the brook near the spring well is not as lush as it used to be. That may be because we have walked in the area too much. But the many ferns that are there are strong and healthy (below).

Spring azure butterfly

The first butterfly photographed this season was the spring azure. They are very small and startlingly blue on the top. This is the underside of the wings. The first butterfly spotted this year was the mourning cloak in April.

And of course, the purple trillium. They were abundant this year, as were the trout lilies.

Black flies are out now, so I'm not getting out as much as before. But I've got some marvelous photographs coming up soon! Spring is a miracle.

_/\_/\_

Broken Promises

Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)

John and I visited the mill ruins on April 28 and I promised myself that I would return to photograph the skunk cabbage before a week was out. It's been 3 weeks and they are too old now. I have read and seen photographs of a stage of skunk cabbage growth that is so gorgeous I wanted to make a special hike to capture it. You can view photographs from Ontario that show this.  And now, writing this, I realize that by April 28 I had already missed the beautiful purple stage. Next year!

Field Horsetail Equisetum arvense)

Every single spring, I promise myself to document the life cycle of field horsetail. There is this brown stage and then there is a green stage. I don't understand how horsetail morphs from one stage to the other. This year I shall!

Fruit of the blue-bead lily (Clintonia borealis)

It took me years to identify this blue fruit in the woods that I saw every summer. Two summers ago we identified it and I promised myself, last summer, that I would find the tiny yellow lily that produces this blue bead. This year!

Interrupted fern fiddleheads (Osmunda claytoniana)

In 2008 I published almost the complete life cycle of the interrupted fern. You can click here to see the series. I promised myself to finish it. I never did. This year!

Dead apple tree in the beaver bog.

Last summer I promised myself that I would get out into the bog more often to explore. I never did. And I have even more urgent needs to go this year. Hawks were eating birds in the bog near where this tree is. John, using binoculars, said they ate a red-winged blackbird. I worry that they ate the mallard hen because just before the hawk perched on a dead tree and began ripping the bird up, the mallard drake chased the hawk out of the water. It was a violent flight for both of the birds. I have not seen mother duck since that morning. This year, I will go exploring more often!

That's a lot of broken promises. If I were to spend some time going through photographs, I would find more. It's time I fulfilled those promises. This year!

_/\_/\_