The month of May has been very warm and dry so far in this part of the state and we are now officially in a moderate drought, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Rainfall was down by 5.17 inches since March first at last look. It seems odd since we had record breaking snowfall last winter, but they say all of the water from winter has now dried up. To illustrate the dryness, this view of the Ashuelot River in Swanzey shows the many stones that aren’t usually visible until July. The water in this spot is shallow enough to allow walking across the river without getting your knees wet right now, but normally attempting that at this time of year would be foolish.
Even tough plants like false hellebore (Veratrum viride) are slowing down. I was struck by the lack of insect damage on the beautiful pleated leaves of these plants. Though very toxic their leaves usually look like they’ve been shot through by buckshot at this time of year. I’ve read that the roots of this plant can be ground and used in a spray form to keep insects away from garden plants so I can’t imagine what insect actually eats it, but whatever it is doesn’t appear to be very hungry this year.
A word of warning: if you think you might want to grind the roots of false hellebore and make a spray for your own garden you should be aware that this plant is extremely toxic. Native Americans once made poison arrows from its sap, and knowing that is enough to make me stay away from damaging it in any way.
I don’t see many ginkgo leaves (Ginkgo biloba) so I have to take photos of them when I do. The order ginkgoales first appeared around 270 million years ago but almost all of its species had become extinct by the end of the Pliocene; wiped out during the ice ages by advancing ice. Ginkgo biloba, which is only found in the wild in China, is the single surviving species. The tree is an actual living fossil; fossilized leaves look much like those in the photo. Extracts made from this tree have been used medicinally for over 3000 years.
Grasses are starting to flower. Many grasses are beautiful and interesting when they flower, but it’s an event that most of us miss. If only we had the time to slow down a little and look a little closer at the things around us, how much more interesting this world might be.
Dandelions aren’t wasting any time in their quest for world domination, though they do seem to be blooming later in spring here each year. Dandelions are apomictic plants, meaning they can produce seeds without being pollinated. They produce somewhere between 54 to 172 seeds per seed head and a single plant can produce more than 2000 seeds per season, all without the help of insects.
Common hair-cap moss (Polytrichum commune) is tending to perpetuation of the species which, if you know anything about the way this moss reproduces, is odd, considering the lack of rain.
Male and female plants of common hair cap moss grow in separate colonies but the colonies are usually quite close together. Male plants have splash cups like that shown in the above photo where sperm are produced. In spring, raindrops splash the sperm from the male shoots to the female plants where they then swim to the eggs.
Common hair cap moss gets its name from the hairs that cover, or cap, the calyptra where each spore case is held, and which can just be seen in the above photo. Once the male sperm reaches the eggs and fertilizes them spores are produced in the capsules. Later on in the summer the capsules will open and the wind will carry the spores to new locations where they will germinate so the process can begin again. But none of this can happen without rain; rain to splash the sperm out of the splash cups and moisture on the plants for them to swim in to reach the eggs. Maybe they know it’s going to rain.
The gall insects aren’t wasting any time, as these new oak leaves show; hardly unfurled and already galled. Oak apple galls are usually found on the midrib of an oak leaf so these might be them just beginning to form. Galls can be unsightly but don’t hurt the tree and the best thing to do about them is to just let nature take its course.
The new leaves on this Japanese Andromeda (Pieris japonica) were a startling shade of red. Chlorophyll absorbs red and blue light and reflects green so leaves look green, but most plants also have other pigments present. Carotenoids are usually yellow to orange and anthocyanins are red to purple. Only one pigment usually dominates, so a plant with red leaves probably has higher than usual amounts of anthocyanins. Chlorophyll is still present even in leaves that aren’t green, and if a plant like this Andromeda normally has green leaves chlorophyll will eventually dominate and its new red leaves will soon turn green. Thanks go to Susan K. Pell, director of science at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for explaining that so well.
Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) also starts out life in spring with its leaves colored red or bronze and people are often fooled by it at this stage. It is a plant that anyone who spends time in the woods should get to know well, but even then you can still occasionally be caught by it. It doesn’t need to have leaves on it to produce a reaction; I got a blistering rash on my lower leg this spring from kneeling on the leafless vines to take photos of spring beauties. Even burning the plants and inhaling the smoke can be dangerous; having the rash inside your body can lead to a hospital stay.
Friends of mine have robins nesting in their holly bush again this year, so they must have had success there last year. It might have something to do with their little dog Minnie, who spends much of her time just a few feet from the nest and keeps the cats away.
I asked this snapping turtle to smile for the camera but this was the best he could do. He doesn’t have to worry about me dangling my toes in his pond. I think the yellowish string like objects are floating pine needles that somehow came out looking vertical.
This tiny little spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) was hopping through the dry forest litter and I wondered if he was looking for water. Most of the smaller forest pools and brooks have dried up, so he might have a hard time finding it. They say that we might see thundershowers every afternoon this week but showers don’t usually help much.
Man – despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments – owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains. ~Anonymous
Thanks for coming by.
More exquisite photos. 🙂
Thanks Ben!
I hope you’ve had the rain you need by now. We have had nothing but it seems and are waiting for some sign of spring or summer. I’m not sure if we get poison I y here because I’ve never seen it. That may be a good thing though.
Yes, we’ve had 3 days of rain so that will help a lot.
No, I looked it up and you don’t have poison ivy there. I’d say that was a very good thing!
I am so sorry you have a drought. Your landscape has become so green very quickly after your long winter, I hope it stays green and doesn’t shrivel up in the dry. The False Hellebore leaves look beautiful, as do the Poison Ivy leaves. If I walked in your woods and saw them I would be tempted to touch them. I would definitely need a guide!
Thank you Clare. I hope it stays green too. We’ve had a couple of July type thunderstorms but that kind of rain usually runs off without doing much good. I have to lead a group tomorrow to look at mosses and things, and the mosses will tell the story of how dry it really is.
You’ve hit the nail on the head when it comes to poisonous plants. Many of them are beautiful enough to make you want to touch them. Anyone who is serious about spending time in the woods should learn how to identify them first. I’m still itching from poison ivy and I know it well!
It sounds nasty stuff!
I can’t think of anything to compare it to, but it blisters the skin and itches. Some people are very sensitive to it and sometimes have to be hospitalized. I had a good friend get it on his face and his eyes were swollen shut for a while, but that’s an extreme example. Calamine lotion helps!
I am sensitive to all sorts of plants that aren’t supposed to irritate so I’d better be careful if I ever visit the States! I have to use anti-hystamine and calamine – it does help!
Yes, if you ever come over for a visit you should definitely have someone who knows what poison ivy looks like with you, because it grows right on the roadsides. It can take the form of a vine, a shrub, or a simple plant so it can fool you. I’m always well covered when I step into the woods but even then if you happen to kneel or sit on it you can still get it. Knowledge is really the best defense against it.
Understood! Thank-you Allen.
Hope you didn’t get too close when you talked to the turtle! The hair cap moss reminds me of Gray’s Sedge. Always something thrilling about finding robins’ eggs.
I almost stepped on a big snapper in the tall grass by the river a couple of years ago. He made me stop in my tracks in a hurry!
The splash cups on haircap moss are spiky like Gray’s sedge.
I like seeing bird’s eggs but I always hope taking a photo or two won’t upset the parents enough to abandon them.
Enjoyable hike. We sure have no shortage of poison ivy.
Neither do we!
I came home one night in late April, I believe, to the deafening sound of one spring peeper. Took a video with my cell phone in one hand and a small flashlight in the other. Not the best quality, but amazing the decibels put out by such a tiny thing!!! It’s fun coming upon one unexpectedly.
Thank you Jocelyn. They are loud little buggers but I’ve never seen one actually peeping. You were very lucky to see it, less than perfect video or not!
So many intriguing explanations in this post. Love the blue of the robin eggs.
Thank you Emily. I like that color too!
Thank you for another lovely morning visit. It always makes my heart sing! I loved the quote and wrote it down to share with others.
Thanks very much Gabrielle. I’m glad that you’re enjoying these posts so much!
Lots of interesting things, but what struck me is that dandelions that produce so much pollen and nectar don’t need insects to pollinate them! Amelia
Thank you Amelia. It is strange about the dandelions, but they still have plenty of insects visiting them!
You’re asking a lot if you think that you can get a snapping turtle to smile, one of the meanest looking critters there are in my opinion. 😉
I don’t know what would be eating the false hellebore, but I do know that no matter how toxic a plant or animal may be, there’s usually another that has evolved to take advantage of the toxic one so there are no competitors for its food source.
Another great post full of useful information, which reminds me to thank you again, I finally noticed the “leaves” on the horsetails around here. It’s very common, and I see it all the time, but I hadn’t ever noticed the leaves before. Now, it’s like “how could I have never noticed before?”
I hope you get the needed rain soon, if I could, I’d send you some of ours. We’re the 5+ inches ahead of what you’re behind. 😉
I agree Jerry. Snapping turtles have a face only a mother could love.
That’s true, insects eat some very toxic plants. Monarch butterflies and milkweed come to mind.
I’m glad you saw the foliage on horsetails. There really isn’t anything else that looks quite like it but it’s still an easy plant to miss because it blends in well.
I wish you could send some of that rain here. We’re so dry that I noticed even the roadside weeds were wilted the other day.
Another wonderful array of shots and information. I especially like the ginkgo leaves : ) I have that motif on placemats but have never seen them growing in the wild. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, and thank you. That tree wasn’t really in the wild. I saw it at a local shopping center, believe it or not. They’re beautiful and unusual trees and I’m really surprised that they aren’t used more. I’m glad you have them on placemats for people to see and ask about.
Great post as usual, and I learned a lot as usual. Thanks for sharing. I passed through Keene recently on my way to Rochester NY for picking up my son at college, and I was remembering you while looking at the road landscape and the exuberant vegetation of this time of the year.
Thanks Jamie. If you’re ever down this way again you’ll have to let me know you’re coming so I can show you around a little bit. There’s an awful lot of nature to see here!
Still staring at the snapping turtle photo, and trying to figure it out. I just can’t see that it’s a turtle. Going to go back for another look. 😉
Love the idea of dandelion world domination. So true.
And, thanks for the ginko info. My neighbors have one, and I’ve always wished that it was in my yard instead. Love the way the leaves dangle and flutter in the breeze.
You’re welcome and thank you Judy. The snapping turtle just had his “beak” sticking out of the water so all you can see are his nostrils and a little of his mouth. His eyes are on the sides of his head so they’re a little harder to see.
Ginkgos are fascinating trees but I don’t see them that often. I don’t think many people know much about them.
Summer seems to be coming early. Temps in the mid 80″s this week. I never used to be allergic to poison ivy, then about 5 years ago, I got a case of it so bad I had to go to the doctors. I know we need the rain, but I hope it can hold off (or rain at night) until I come back from the lakes region!
When I get poison ivy it usually stays right where I touched the plant so I’m lucky.
I hope you don’t get showered on!
nice!!!
Thanks!
welcome
are u in wordpress now???
Yes, but I’ve got to get ready for work.
how many views do u have???
Around 300,000 or so I think.
i just got 400+
If you write about what you know and love people will be interested in what you have to say.
not in geologist isn’t
like…
Like geology or anything else that gets you excited. Even writing about a walk to school can be exciting if written well. There are millions of people out there who like exactly the same things you do, but it takes time to connect with them on a blog. I don’t think I even had a comment for about 6-9 months.
I’ve read your posts and watched your video, so I know you’re a smart boy. You’ll figure it out.
oh ok i should explain that
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The quote made me laugh out loud, thank you. The information about the ginko was very interesting and I loved the sight of the eggs.
Thank you Susan. Gingkos are fascinating trees. They and horsetail plants can give us a look far into the past.
I’m glad you liked the quote!
If you are planning to put a gingko in your garden make sure it is a male plant. Females of this species produce fruit that are fiendishly odorous – like dog poop.
Thank you Zyriacus. I’ve heard that about gingkos but I’ve never heard exactly what they smelled like. I won’t be planting a female!