There is nothing special about this photo of a swamp, other than to mark the place where I heard the first red winged blackbird of this year. I haven’t seen any but I’ve heard them and that’s another sign of spring.
I hope the red winged blackbirds know what they’re doing because this frozen pond is right across the road from the thawed swamp in the previous photo. Our nighttime temperatures are still falling below freezing but I hear the birds each morning.
Half Moon Pond in Hancock certainly didn’t look very spring like after one of our many recent nor’easters. Before this cold came in March it looked like the ice would be gone in less than another week.
The wind blows strongly off Half Moon Pond almost all of the time, and this lake sedge (Carex lacustris) shows the direction. This sedge grows in large colonies near lakes, ponds, and wetlands and is native to Canada and the northern U.S. It is a pleasant shade of green in summer and can sometimes be the dominant plant along shorelines and in swamps. Waterfowl and songbirds eat its seeds.
When I saw a mullein seedling (Verbascum thapsus) I realized that I had never seen another one, most likely because I wasn’t paying attention. It was every bit as wooly as its adult counterparts and ready to start photosynthesizing. Mullein is a biennial that flowers and dies in its second year. This one was about the size of a baseball, or just over 9 inches.
I went to see my old friends the striped wintergreens (Chimaphila maculata) to see how they came through the winter and I was happy to see that they looked good and healthy. This is a plant I don’t see that often and I only know of three or four small colonies. Hopefully they will bloom and set seed in mid-July.
Trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) grows near the striped wintergreens and also came through the winter looking well. This plant always reminds me of my grandmother because it was one of her favorites. The plant is also called mayflower and was once nearly collected into oblivion so the very fragrant blossoms could be used in nosegays, but it is now protected in many states. It relies heavily on a relationship with certain fungi mycelium in the soil and it absolutely refuses to grow anywhere that the mycelium isn’t present. Native Americans used to use the plant medicinally to break up kidney stones. It was so valuable to them that it was thought to have divine origins.
The basal leaves of hawkweed (and many other plants) often turn deep purple in winter. Many trees and other plants conserve a lot of energy if they don’t have to make chlorophyll so in the fall many stop making it. When that happens other colors which were there all along start to show. Carotenoids make leaves orange and yellow and anthocyanins make them red, pink or purple. Anthocyanins can also protect leaves from getting sunburned in winter if they are evergreen.
Beaked willow gall is caused by a tiny midge laying its egg in a willow bud. The reddish galls usually form at branch tips in the fall and will house the fly larva all winter. It will eat the tissue in the gall until spring, when it will pupate and an adult midge will emerge. Winter is a great time to look for galls, which are often hidden behind leaves at other times of year.
I’m always amazed by how much red there is in highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) and nothing shows it better than the witch’s brooms that are so common on these shrubs. On blueberries witch’s brooms are cause by a fungus that deforms branches or roots and causes a dense mass of shoots to grow from a single point. In my experience they don’t really harm the plant and can even be quite pretty with snow on them.
An old trick that gardeners sometimes use when they want to grow plants that aren’t hardy in their area is to plant the sensitive plats near a stone or brick wall. The mass of masonry absorbs the warmth of the sun during the day and releases it slowly at night, protecting the plants from frost damage. Sweet gum trees grow near such a sunlit wall at the local college and the above photo is of one of their seed pods (Liquidambar styraciflua.) Seeing these pods here seems very strange because sweet gum is thought of as a “southern tree,” and Massachusetts is the northern most point that it grows naturally. I never saw the seed pods as a boy but I wish I had because they’re interesting and hold their shape well when dried. They would have made a great addition to my collection of natural oddities.
The base of this eastern hemlock tree (Tsuga canadensis) was covered by what I think must be yellow green algae (Pleurococcus vulgaris.) These algae grow on the shaded sides of tree trunks, on soil, stones and even on walls. Their closest relatives are said to grow in lakes and rivers, but these species can withstand some dryness. Fossil evidence shows that algae have existed for at least 540 million years.
A saw another hemlock that had a deep crack in its bark that ran straight and true from the ground to about 15 feet up. At first I thought it must be a frost crack but I’ve never seen one so long, so I’m guessing it must have been a lightning strike. Since it was an older wound there were no pieces of bark that might have been blown off lying around. I came upon a tree once that had been recently struck by lightning and there were strips of bark all over the ground. No matter how the crack was made I’m sure it made quite a loud noise when it happened. On cold winter nights you can sometimes hear stressed trees cracking in the forest. It is sudden and sounds like a rifle shot.
The bud scales on many of the male alder catkins have gone from their deep winter purple to shades of pink, orange, red and brown. Soon the bud scales will open to reveal the yellow green flowers that will release the pollen to the wind. They become very beautiful at this time of year and sometimes when the light is right it looks like someone has strung ropes of multicolored jewels on all the bushes.
Boxwood (Buxus) is called man’s oldest garden ornamental because it has been used for hedges and specimen plantings for centuries. The early settlers thought so highly of it they brought it with them in the mid-1600s. The first plants were brought over from Amsterdam and were planted in about 1653 on Long Island in New York. There are about 90 species of boxwood and many make excellent hedges. These examples I found in a local park were budded. They’ll bloom In late April or early May but so will many other flowers, so these small but pretty ones will probably be overlooked.
The willows seem to be in a holding pattern. They’ve had their fuzzy gray catkins for two weeks now but there are no signs of the bright yellow flowers yet. Maybe I’ll see some later today.
I was flabbergasted when I saw the vernal witch hazels (Hamamelis vernalis) still blossoming. They’ve been through three nor’easters and zero degree cold but there are at least five bushes still full of flowers, so I’d say they were well worth what it cost to buy them. I wish you could smell them. I’ve heard their scent compared to laundry taken in fresh from the line but another description I just read says a hint of citrus-maybe lemon-is there as well. They seem a bit spicy to me but it’s a very pleasant scent that you can smell from quite a distance.
It’s always nice to see budded daffodils in spring. These were coming along well in spite of the zero degree cold we’ve had. They grow near the brick wall of a building and I think the heat radiating off the wall keeps them warm at night, just like the sweet gum trees we heard about earlier.
Not all the daffodils were lucky enough to have a brick wall, and this is what happened to many of those that didn’t. This is the second year in a row that this has happened to these bulbs and I’m not sure if they’ll make it now. A bulb needs leaves to photosynthesize and build up the strength it needs to blossom the following year. With their first spring leaves dying off for two years now I doubt they have much strength left. If they were mine I’d dig and replace them with later blossoming bulbs. They’re a bit overanxious I think.
Sometimes sunlight on moss is really all I need. I pity those who spend their lives chasing after riches, all the while missing the incredible richness all around them.
People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy. ~Anton Chekhov
Thanks for stopping in.
Sunlight on moss always cheers me up!
This entire spring seems to be in a holding pattern of sorts. I enjoyed seeing the few signs of its arrival that you found, it’s about the same here. I noticed the alder catkins, and a few other signs of spring, but it was another dark,dreary day here, so I didn’t attempt any photos. Besides that, I was in a swamp and the thought of going over my boots in the cold mud didn’t appeal to me. I should have though, as I liked the photos of the plants that you’ve found near water, and in other places as well.
My real problem is being totally bummed out by how slow this spring is in coming, I don’t know how you stay so cheerful when the weather has been even worse there. Well, it’s a combination of the weather and my work schedule that has me feeling down this year. I work six days a week, and my hours are such that I don’t have time to make it outside but for my one day off from work. I sleep during the day, leaving me awake at night during my work week, I’m beginning to feel like a mole or a bat rather than a human. It’s hard to get outside to see the signs of spring at night when it’s 20 degrees and a stiff northeast wind blowing. At least we finally had some rain yesterday after two dry weeks, so things are just beginning to turn green.
Thanks Jerry! Yes, spring is teasing us this year but it finally seems to be warming up here. It was about 50 today.
I don’t blame you for not wanting wet feet. No photo is worth that to me, though I’ve come home with wet feet many times from not watching where I was going.
Being awake at night doesn’t help much with nature photography! It’s too bad they can’t give you two days in a row off, even if it was only occasionally.
I hope you see some spring weather soon. It does seem to be turning a corner here, but your weather is our weather, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
Glad spring is making progress out there. Today was 35 degrees, but at least it was sunny.
We got up to 45, but there was a biting wind with it!
I’m so happy to find your blog! Thank you for posting.
Thank you Laura, I’m glad you found it too!
You total show-off, you! Your daffodils are budded up already? It’s a crime, say I. Mine are just coming out of the ground.
Mind you, our Snowdrops are finally blooming — now that the snow is gone.
Seriously, isn’t it just lovely to see these signs of Spring?
Thank you Cynthia. Yes it is great to see spring, but your snowdrops have beaten ours. I haven’t seen them or a crocus yet. I haven’t even seen a robin!
I know mullein is hardy but I did not know it was that hardy! I am always so taken aback by the tough plants you show us. Amelia
Thank you Amelia. Yes, not only is it hardy, it’s also evergreen. They are very tough!
Lovely post, and quote as always. It must bring absolute joy to your heart seeing the early signs of spring. Your description of the witch hazel and its smell makes me want to go and buy some! I love seeing the first daffodils, and now in our autumn, I’m about to go and plant some!
Thank you. Yes, spring has always been my favorite season so it does bring me great joy to see it finally happening.
I don’t think you’d be sorry if you did buy a witch hazel. or two Here they bloom when nothing else does and the fragrance is an added bonus. The spring blooming ones are more fragrant than the fall bloomers.
I’ve decided I’m going to put some crocus bulbs in this fall. They seem to be getting increasingly difficult to find blooming in this area.
Good luck with crocus It stubbornly refuses to grow for me!
They generally do well here but it seems like not many are growing them anymore.
You are ahead of us for signs of spring again. Haven’t seen or heard red wings yet, but a few Robins has returned. Today we had a brief but violent snow storm again. The roller coaster continues.
Thanks Montucky! I went robin hunting yesterday and didn’t see a single one, but I did see a few more flowers.
This morning there is a dusting of snow, so we’re on the same coaster.
How nice that you have found a couple of old friends who are doing well despite the freezing weather! Their strong green colour looks so good against the snow and the faded leaf litter! I love the woolly leaves of verbascum and welcome them into my garden but they usually get eaten by the verbascum moth caterpillar and not much is left.
Thank you Clare. So far it looks like we’ve all made it through with no real damage, other than a few poor daffodils.
I haven’t heard of the verbascum moth caterpillar and don’t think I’ve ever seen one. We have thousands of plants here though and they are one of those that gets little to no notice, even from me. I wonder if a pepper or garlic spray or dust would discourage the caterpillars.
That is an idea! I don’t want to harm the caterpillars as I am aware that we are losing our insects very quickly but then again I do like to see verbascums!
I think many people are demanding safer alternatives to pesticides now so there must be something that will tell the caterpillars to go find another plant.
Another fascinating post that shows the details so well. The split in the hemlock is strange and interesting. Also really enjoyed the seed pod. I am very interested in natural healing from plants but know so little. The sunlight on the moss says much about your character. I am so very glad to have discovered your blog. Your commentary is informative and soothing.
I think I saw a few green blades of grass here, but it could be my wishful thinking.
Thank you Penny. There is a lot of information out there about healing with plants but I’d proceed with caution because many plants can make you very sick and even kill. If I were going to explore that area I’d want someone reputable with a proven track record. We have such people here and I would think you’d have them there as well.
I’m glad you found the blog too!
Just found amazing book..Albion’s Seed by David Hackett Fischer. About 900 pages and looks to be chockful of useful information about the migration and settlements you had referred to in a previous post about your family. I shall enjoy learning new things and always happy to find a new direction for research. If you have not read it, I am sure you would enjoy it as well.
Bingo! Only 20 pages in there are references to the migration your family would have been a part of and footnotes give the references to where you would find which ship and the manifest!
Thank you Penny. My daughter has pretty much taken over the family research so I’ll pass this on to her. We’ve never been able to find the name of the original 1638 ship, so it would be great if that was listed.
I must have a good look at our alders to see how they are coming along. Thank you for the prompt.
You’re welcome. I’m guessing that yours are further along than ours. Our hazels are behind this year too.
Lovely and educational as always. Thanks for the time spent on your posts.
You’re welcome, and thank you.
There is always so much going on with Nature and I appreciate having you there to help me understand more of it than I otherwise would.
Thank you Ben. Getting folks interested by showing them what they’re missing is what this blog is all about!
That was my conclusion. 🙂
What a great title “My Collection of Natural Oddities” would be. A name could also be substituted for the word “my,’ and that would be even better. The way my mind runs, this would be a fantasy novel. ;).
Thanks Laurie. The oddities are probably only odd to me, like the sweet gum seed pods. There is a cholla cactus stem that a friend brought back from New Mexico, a few lichens, honey locust thorns, burls, feathers, galls, and other things that have caught my eye over the years. To anyone else it would probably all be rubbish but it isn’t the object; it’s the memory.
Liked the quote and I agree with your final musing even though sunlight on moss doesn’t really do it for me, ranges of snowclad mountains are more my thing.
Thank you Susan. I wish I could show you some!
Again a post that is most enlightening and as always a deep pond of knowledge and wisdom. That crack in the tsuga stem seems to be very straight. Daffodils have been out here for as much as two weeks and have been more than once been subject to freezing temperatures. They are still going strong.
Thanks very much Zyriacus. That crack was vert straight like a frost crack, but it was also very long.
Our daffodils can also usually take a lot of cold but when it gets down to zero they just can’t seem to take it. You’re lucky that yours are blooming already. I hope to see some doing the same today!