Friday 16 May 2014

A Bit More of Spring
May 16th, 2014

 
"To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome  than the most luxurious Persian rug."
                                                                     - Helen Keller


I think most of us were waiting for spring, especially this year. When it did finally arrive, it was with a rush. We're suddenly well into it. The warm weather and recent rains have jump-started everything. The Magnolia trees in town are in full bloom, the trees have leafed out in the last few days, and some of the early events of spring in the woods are now history.

Marsh Marigolds aren't exactly plentiful in our area but there are always some in wetter areas somewhere. Their bright yellow stands out. These are in the small woods on my walking path.


This lone Trillium was nestled in the crook at the base of this tree in the same woods. It's the only one I've ever seen there. Being a loner, it stands out.

What was just a bud not many days ago is now a new twig with several leaves. Amazing... most of nature is to me. The remnants of the bud are at the base of the twig. It's a Silver Maple.

There are still a few Horsetail at this first stage but most are in the later stages now, with not the slightest resemblance to how they once looked.
























Most mosses I come across are green. This is a colorful exception. 















Coltsfoot's time is coming to an end. Maybe because they don't show up in our lawns, they're a more welcome sign of spring than dandelions ever are.




















This was a week or so back--mating swarms of Ghost Midges. They don't bite like mosquitoes, and they're short-lived so they're more tolerated, though some cyclists complain of getting a mouthful of them when they're out on a bike ride.















They start out as larvae in water, they all emerge on some mysterious cue, form the mating swarms, mate in the air, and the females then return to the water, lay their eggs and die... and the cycle repeats. The males die after mating.

It may not be as magical or beautiful as caterpillars becoming butterflies or moths, but it's still amazing to me that creatures that begin life swimming in the water like fish, end up sprouting wings and flying, albeit for only a matter of hours. The same can be said of our beloved mosquitoes of course.















I managed to get a close-up of some that were warming themselves on a bench.
Butterfly boxes. There aren't many of these around. I've yet to see a butterfly anywhere near one.















From another era but hanging in there.















The intricate lace of one of last year's Wild Cucumber pods. Look inside one and you'll find four chambers with a single seed in each.





















Not sure what tree this is but it has colorful buds. 
Update: They're Eastern Cottonwood. Thanks John.
A group of us went for an outing along Oshawa Creek. These Dryads Saddle mushrooms were on this interesting stump. What look like a couple white fungi are the bases of some cut off by some women who were gathering the choice ones, as well as Fiddleheads, along the creek.


















Another common name is Pheasant's Back mushrooms. Maybe a more appropriate name?


















I thought the stump made for a busy, but beautiful, background.

I've never tried Fiddleheads from the wild but many people gather them. These are too far advanced to be tasty I'm told.















I can't help but think of them as family gatherings. Mom & dad and the kids. They're Ostrich Fern. Thanks John.





















Everyone dozed off at this discussion.
























A very hard shelf fungus. Someone scratched some numbers on it.

With official summer only about five weeks away and spring very much in bloom, that awful winter we all complained about is now feeling like it was a long time ago.

- fini -




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