We had a big storm here last Friday but we saw more rain than snow, and little wind. I’ve heard that upstate New York saw 2-3 feet of snow and in Pennsylvania semi-trucks were blown over by the wind, so we got off relatively easy. We did see flooding in places as this photo of a flooded forest shows, but not enough to cause any real damage. Things may change again today, because the weather people are saying we might see as much as 18 inches of snow from this afternoon through nightfall on Thursday.
The Ashuelot River spilled out into this pasture but this is expected in spring and there are no buildings within the flood zone.
I think it was just 2 weeks ago when I watched people skating on this pond. Now there is open water. I was hoping to see some ducks or spring peepers but I didn’t see either.
Though our days have been warm, mostly in the 50s F, our mornings are still cold enough for puddle ice. This ice is very thin and often white because of all the oxygen bubbles in it, and it tinkles when you break it. Nothing says spring to me quite like puddle ice, because when I was a boy I used to ride my bike through it in the spring as soon as the snow melted. You can see many things in this ice, but on this morning it was a simple starburst.
I noticed that the hairy bud scales on a Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) had opened to reveal the bright yellow flower buds they’ve been protecting. Once pollinated in mid-April the flowers will become sour red fruits that have been eaten by man for about 7000 years. In northern Greece early Neolithic people left behind remains of meals that included Cornelian cherry fruit and Homer, Rumi, and Marcus Aurelius all probably tasted the fruit. I would if I could ever find one but apparently the birds snap them up quickly, because I’ve never seen one.
I’ve been staring at this photo of a crocus blossom trying to figure out exactly what is going on, because you shouldn’t be able to see the central anthers in a closed crocus blossom. I finally realized that it has been cut in half lengthwise, so you can indeed see inside the blossom to the reproductive parts. Why or how anyone would do this while the plant was actually in the ground growing and blossoming is a mystery to me, but it is an interesting look at something rarely seen.
Another plant I was hoping to get a look inside was a skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) so I went to visit them in their swamp and saw that many of the mottled spathes had opened since I was last here. I could see the spadix covered with flowers in this one, but could I get a shot of it?
I was able to, barely. The spadix is a one inch diameter pink or yellow, stalked flower head from which the small flowers emerge. The flowers don’t have petals but do have four sepals. The male stamens grow up through the sepals and release their pollen before the female style and pistil grow out of the flower’s center to catch any pollen that insects bring in from other plants. The spadix carries most of the skunk like odor at this point and it is thought by some that it uses the odor to attract flies and other insects that might pollinate it. Sometimes the spadix is covered with pollen but this one hadn’t seen any yet so the male flowers must have just opened.
I saw some over-anxious daylilies. I hope they know what they’re doing. They could easily find themselves under a foot of snow tomorrow. March can be a fickle month with 50 degrees one day and snow the next and right now the forecast looks wild.
Ever so slowly the buds of red maple (Acer rubrum) are opening. The purple bud scales pull back to reveal the tomato red buds within. It probably won’t be long before they blossom, unless we get a cold snap with the coming storm.
The vernal witch hazels are blooming with great abandon now, even though this day was a cool one. We probably won’t see another display like this one until the forsythias bloom.
I couldn’t tell if this blueberry bud was opening or not but it showed me that spiders are active, even in winter.
It looked like this huge old mother white pine tree held her baby in her arms and it reminded me of the book The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. I’m reading it now and it’s a book that I’d highly recommend to anyone who is interested in learning more about nature.
If a forest is a cathedral, then this is its stained glass.
I saw some beautifully colored turkey tail fungi (Trametes versicolor.) Someday I hope to find out what determines their color. They seem to all be different so I would think that the wood they grow on must play a part in their coloration, but I haven’t ever been able to find anything written on the subject.
I was walking the grounds of the local college looking for blooming flowers when I came upon this Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata.) The vine has nothing to do with Boston and it isn’t a true ivy, but it is the reason colleges are called “Ivy League.” Boston ivy is actually in the grape family and originally came from China and Japan.
Boston ivy will climb just about anything by attaching itself with tiny circular pads that form at the ends of its tendrils. The vine secretes calcium carbonate and uses it to glue itself to whatever surface it grows on, in this case brick. The glue can support up to 260 times its own weight and if you’ve ever tried to pull Boston ivy off a building you know how sticky it is.
I’m not wild about stone walls that were built with mortar but sidewalk firedot lichens (Caloplaca feracissima) sure are. These bright orange lichens love the lime used in cement and can often be found growing on concrete sidewalks, and that’s where their common name comes from. When you find them growing on stone in the woods it’s a great sign that you’re in an area with a lot of limestone, and there’s a good chance that you’ll find other lime loving plants, like many of our native orchids.
Sidewalk firedot lichens appear very granular and often show fruiting bodies but this example was quite dry and I couldn’t see that it was producing spores anywhere.
A pile of fallen fern leaves reminded me of nautili swimming under the sea. It is interesting how nature uses the same shapes over and over, especially spirals. The spiral was considered sacred geometry by ancient civilizations and is still used today. Sacred geometry involves sacred universal patterns used in the design of everything in our reality. Spirals for instance, can be found in everything from the nautilus to the sunflower and from our own DNA to entire galaxies.
Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring. ~Lilly Pulitzer
Thanks for stopping in.
Another terrific look at the signs of spring that you’re seeing, I’m getting excited about the coming of spring by reading your posts.
I never thought of the adhesive that Boston Ivy secretes as being sticky, but I suppose that it is. It’s always seemed more like cement to me, hard and very difficult to break away from what it has adhered to.
I loved seeing the spirals of the dried fern leaves, nice catch, as I have seen them before but never thought to shoot a photo, silly me.
Thanks Jerry! I hope you’ll be seeing signs of spring there soon. I saw many more yesterday.
The “glue” on Boston Ivy is like cement but it sure sticks to anything and is almost impossible to get off.
I stepped over a log and there was a big pile of fern leaves just like someone had put them there, so I had to get a shot of them.
I do like your nautlii ferns and stained-glass bark! You have a true artist’s eye.
Thank you Clare. You never know what you’ll see out there!
Once again it would be hard to choose just a few favorites from these wonderful photos. But very interesting about the sliced in half crocus. The reference to stained glass in the bark and fungi was an interesting reference. I can certainly see you on your bike racing through the crunchy ice.
I see you are getting hit pretty hard with this storm and hope you get through just fine. Do you have a wood stove?
We are on our second day of sunshine and barely above freezing.
Thank you Penny. No, I don’t have a wood stove or a generator but in the 25 years that I’ve lived here, thankfully I haven’t needed either. I do miss wood heat though!
I’m glad you’re seeing some sunshine even though it is a bit cool. Spring is on the way though!
I hope that your storm is not too severe. It is very annoying when things go backward just when progress was being made.
Thank you. I agree!
It’s snowing hard right now but we’ll get through it.
Fascinating information and photos of the skunk cabbage! I’ve heard that they do grow in this general area but I’ve never seen one. The is the most beautiful Turkey tail I’ve ever seen. what great colors!
Thanks Montucky! There is a western skunk cabbage and I think I read that it grows in / near swamps like ours.
It’s been a great year for colorful turkey tails!
I’m always amazed to see firedot lichens – it’s so brilliant!
Thank you Eliza. They sure are and you can see them from quite a distance. Definitely one of the easier lichens to find and identify!
Wonderful post! So much to admire. My favorite is of the ferns that look like nautili. But the close-up of the skunk cabbage isn’t far behind. Stay warm, safe, and cozy during our latest storm. March marches on…
Thank you Laurie. I hope the storm will be kind to you as well. It’s barely getting started here but it’s coming down at a pretty good clip. I’m glad I made it home from work before we got too much more.
I expect Storm Quinn will be heading our way pretty darned soon. So hoping we won’t lose our power. We can face a lot if we have power. Glad you made it home before the driving was too bad.
I hope your power doesn’t go out. It’s supposed to be windiest at the coast here but the snow is wet and heavy.
Right! We shall see what tomorrow brings. Good luck to you!
I hope you made it through okay. I had about 3-4 inches in my yard which was a bit anti climactic, but it still had to be shoveled and it was heavy and wet.
That’s great that you didn’t get clobbered! We got over a foot of snow that was a little heavy, but not ridiculously so.
We got about 8 inches at work but it wasn’t as heavy as what was in my yard. I’m glad yours wasn’t either, with that much!
We’re a bit ahead of you as you’d expect in Northern Virginia. Yesterday on my way to work I passed a big patch of daffodils, all of them in bloom. Spring is definitely coming.
Thanks Mike. We’re in the midst of another snowstorm, so we’re probably taking two steps back for your every one forward, but spring will come sooner or later.
I’d sure love to see some daffodils!