It used to be we’d get a day or two of rain each week, enough to keep the lawns green and fungi growing, but now it seems everything happens in bunches. Weather comes in and stays for a week or two, and it has been like that lately. The latest low pressure system has taken two weeks to slowly creep out of the midwest and arrive, as of Wednesday, in Rochester, NY. Hopefully by the time I post this it will have moved out over the Atlantic. Its spin has brought wave after wave of rain, and it has rained at least a little almost every day. There was even a flash flood alert in there somewhere, but it never happened here. The Ashuelot River has overrun its banks in the lowest places but those places, often hay fields, are left open and empty so it can, and there is no damage done.
If you decide to be a nature blogger the first thing you learn is, you take what comes. You don’t have to sing in the rain but you do have to put up with it, so you dress for weather and out you go. I happen to like occasional days like those shown in these photos, so they don’t bother me. You find, if you pay attention, that on windy days the wind doesn’t usually blow constantly, so if you wait a bit the flower you want a shot of will stop whipping around. The same is true with rain; there are often moments or even hours when it holds off. But you have to pay attention and catch the right times, otherwise you’ll learn how to shoot with one hand and hold your umbrella with the other.
Rainy days are best for photos of things like lichens, because their color and form are at their peak when they’re hydrated. A dry lichen can look very different, so trying to match its color with one in a lichen guide can sometimes be frustrating. Foliose lichens especially, like the Tuckermannopsis in the above photo, can change drastically. Mosses, lichens, and fungi are all at their best on rainy days, so those are the best days to look for them. Species of the above lichen could be cilliaris, which is also called the fringed wrinkle lichen.
My phone camera decided this view of a shadbush needed to be impressionistic, so that’s what I got. Since I’ve always liked the impressionist artists I was okay with it. Shadbush (Amelanchier) is usually the earliest white flowered roadside tree to bloom, followed quickly by the various cherries, and finally the apples and crabapples.
The common name shadbush comes from the shad fish, which used to run in great numbers in our rivers at about the same time it blossomed. It is also called shadblow, serviceberry, Juneberry, wild plum, sugar plum, and Saskatoon, and each name comes with its own story. I used to work with someone who swore up and down that his ornamental Amelanchier trees were not shadbushes, when in fact they were just cultivated varieties (cultivars) of the shadbush. If the original tree is taken from the wild and improved upon by man by selective breeding or other means, that doesn’t mean it becomes a different tree. One look at the flowers tells the whole story.
The buds of the shadbush, as far as I know, are unique and hard to confuse with any others, so if your Amelanchier has buds like these it is a shadbush. People get upset when they discover that their high priced ornamental tree has the heart of a roadside tramp, but that’s because they don’t understand how many years and how much work it took to “improve” upon what was found in nature. Cultivars can have double the number of flowers that roadside trees have but they are also often bred for disease resistance and other desirable, unseen characteristics as well, and that’s why they cost so much. It can take 20 years or more to develop a “new” tree, and even longer to profit from the time and effort.
Wood anemones have sprung up but with all the clouds it has been hard to find an open flower. Finally, one cloudy day this one said “Hey, look at me,” so I grabbed a shot while I could. If ever there was a sun lover this is it, but on this day it could wait no longer.
I went to the Beaver Brook natural area to see if the hobblebushes that lived there were blossoming, and found them in full bloom, along with many trilliums. This one pictured had taken on an unusual upright shape. I usually see them grow low to the ground with their branches hidden by last year’s fallen leaves. They’re easy to trip on, and that’s how this bush hobbles you. I was careful not to trip and end up in the brook.
Or at least, the bushes were half way blooming. All the unopened buds in the center are the fertile flowers that do all the work and the larger, prettier flowers around the outer edges are the sterile flowers, just there to entice insects into stopping in for a visit. Hobblebushes are a native viburnum, one of over 200 species worldwide, and they are one of our most beautiful spring flowering shrubs.
Red elderberries go from purple buds to white flowers, so I’d guess by now I should go back and see the flowers. The flower heads are pyramidal; quite different from the large, flat flower heads of the common elderberry.
While I was at Beaver Brook I decided to check on the disappearing waterfall, which runs only after we have a certain amount of rain. What draws me to this scene is the mosses. Mosses grow slowly here, often taking many decades to cover a stone wall, and that’s because it has always been relatively dry with a normal average of an inch or so of rain each week, but turn up the rainfall and what you see here will happen. Most of that moss is due to splash over from the stream and or/ water runoff from above, and it’s beautiful and unusual enough to sometimes make people stand in line, waiting to get a photo. I saw them stacked three deep here one day, but if ever we live in a time with twice the average rainfall people will walk right by this spot without giving it a second glance, because then everything will look like this.
By the way, if you’re interested in mosses the BBC did a fascinating one hour show about them. Just Google “The Magical World of Moss on BBC.” It’s well worth watching.
Beaver Brook was rushing along at a pretty good clip and the trees along its banks were greening up.
But not all the new leaves were green.
Beech buds are breaking and there are beautiful angel wings everywhere in the forest.
In the garden the cartoonish flowers of henbit have finally appeared. Not that long ago I could count on them being one of the first flowers I showed here in spring but now they bloom as much as a month later. Why hens peck at them I don’t know, but that’s why they’re called henbit. They’re in the mint family and the leaves and flowers are edible, with a slightly sweet and peppery flavor.
How intense the blue of scilla was on a cloudy day. This and other spring flowering bulbs are having an extended bloom this year I’ve noticed, most likely because it has been on the cool side for a week or two.
The blue of grape hyacinths was just as intense. My color finding software calls it slate blue, indigo or royal blue, depending on what area I put the pointer on. These plants have nothing to do with either grapes or hyacinths. They’re actually in the asparagus family, but more beautiful than their cousins, I think. I like the small white ring that surrounds the flower’s opening, most likely there to entice insects.
A slightly different colored glory of the snow has come along. These are very pretty flowers, almost like a larger version of scilla, but not quite the same shape. If I had more sun in my yard I’d grow them all.
The small leaved PJM rhododendrons had just come into bloom when I took this photo. The plants were originally developed in Massachusetts and are now every bit as common as Forsythias in this area. In fact, the two plants are often planted together. Forsythia blooms usually a week or so before the rhododendron but yellow and purple flowers blooming together is a common sight in store and bank parking areas in spring.
The old fashioned bleeding hearts are blooming nicely. They can get quite big in the garden but they die back in summer. This can leave quite a big hole in a perennial border, so they take a bit of planning before you just go ahead and plant one anywhere. They are native to northern China, Korea and Japan and despite a few drawbacks are well worth growing. They also do well as stand alone plants due to their size, and since they don’t mind shade they look good planted here and there under trees. That’s the way the plant pictured above is used in a local park.
Even the ferns are being held back by the cool, wet weather; this sensitive fern is one of only two or three I’ve seen trying to open. A sunny day or two will perk them up and will also mean an explosion of growth, so I’m hoping I can bring you a sunnier post in the near future.
Cinnamon ferns are in all stages of growth but I have yet to see one fully opened.
Lower down on its stem this fern had a visitor. I was near a pond and mayflies were hatching. According to what I read online the dull opaque color of the wings means this mayfly was at the “subimagio stage,” halfway between the nymph and adult stages. This is when they are most vulnerable, so that explains why it was in hiding on this fern. A single hatching can produce many millions of them, so there were probably others around. They are among the most ancient types of insects still living, having been here since 100 million years before the dinosaurs. I’m glad they’re still with us; I think they’re quite beautiful. I hope everyone is able to get out and see all of the wonders of spring.
As I stood and watched the mists slowly rising this morning I wondered what view was more beautiful than this. ~Hal Borland
Thanks for coming by.
Thanks Allen. I am still following you from Florida. You gave me a gift today of beauty and peace. Many thanks. Bleeding heart grows here in my yard. Cheers
Hi Judy. I hope you’re staying cool down there! It was just about this time of year that I decided I couldn’t take it when I lived there.
I’d bet that bleeding hearts and just about everything else does well there. I saw what I knew as house plants growing up trees!
Enjoy the beauty!
Lovely!
Thanks Kathy!
Allen, that photo of the disappearing waterfall is just stunning! I can fully understand why people would line up to capture it. Everything outdoors is so beautiful in the spring it must be a real effort to make any distance on your nature hikes. Just what’s outside your back door could entertain for hours, huh? My morning garden stroll with my coffee frequently takes well over an hour. Its such a pleasure to observe even the tiniest changes. Thanks for today’s post!
Thanks Ginny! That waterfall is one of my favorite scenes. It’s always surprising to go back a day or two after a rain and find it completely dry.
Yes, I do move very slowly through nature, but as I’m sure you know it’s the only way we can really see. I have done posts in just what I’ve found in the yard and even they took a while!
I’d love to be able to wander through your garden. In my imagination it’s such a beautiful place!
ALWAYS a joy to see and read. Thank you!
PS …. Loved this line:
“You don’t have to sing in the rain but you do have to put up with it. “.
Thank you Dianne. Years of being a gardener and nature blogger taught me that!
You’re right about henbit looking cartoonish! What strange little flowers.
We have two amelanchier trees in our garden. The blossom doesn’t last long but the trees are very attractive looking and the leaves turn a pretty colour in the autumn. I like the fact that it has so many common names; it has obviously been loved and appreciated by many people for countless years.
The henbit does have very strange flowers. Hairy all over too.
I’ve noticed that the wild amelanchier trees are blooming a lot longer this year and I’m guessing the cool weather has something to do with it.
They do make nice ornamental trees, and the berries that come in June attract many species of birds here. People also eat them if they can get them before the birds. They’re said to taste like a cross between a blueberry and a strawberry. They’re ripe when they turn deep purple.
They have been known and loved for many years!
Ours do have berries but we’ve never been given the chance to taste them. The birds get there first! Which is how it should be.
Yes, they’re small and hard to pick so I’ve always just let the birds get them. You’d need a lot of them to make a pie!
Our weather seems to be coming in solid blocks like yours. It is a definite change over recent years. I have read that climate change is strengthening the jet stream which is causing the weather to get more ‘fixed’ but whether this is true, I don’t know.
That is a top notch mayfly picture. I had one land on me recently but didn’t get a picture.
Thank you. I’d guess that climate change was the cause of all the “stuck” weather we’re seeing all over the world. We need to start paying attention to scientists and not politicians or we’re going to be in for a rough ride.
I read that mayflies molt three times and this one was midway between what you saw in the post and adulthood, so I wondered if maybe it couldn’t fly. It could crawl though, and it still kept me busy.
You’re welcome!
Another enjoyable post, and I was nodding when you mentioned how rain can sometimes be a photographer’s best friend. It takes a bit more effort to get out in the wet, but worth it. For me, the reflection of water on streets, stones, and anything of color becomes richer. It also explains why, when out in beautiful sunny weather, my lichen and moss photos never pop the way I hope 🙂
Great story about the shadbush and their many different names ~ it would be fun to track down all the stories. One of the best pieces of information is the cultivation of plants bred to achieve something brilliant ~ and I love the idea of “People get upset when they discover that their high-priced ornamental tree has the heart of a roadside tramp…” it makes me feel good for all the tramps in the world 🙂
Earlier, I was reviewing some photos my friend in Hong Kong sent to me (taken by them back in February there); they were Bleeding Hearts which is one of my favorite flowers… first time I was introduced to them was in Hong Kong, and every time I see my heart beats a bit faster, so thrilled to see them here as well. Another brilliant post for you and a lesson for me 🙂
Thank you. It’s really surprising how fast lichens and mosses can dry out. Some in less than a day. Unless lichens are growing on rock I try to find them on rainy days.
Some stories of the shadbush have come down from Colonial times so they’ve been with us for a while! “June berry” is self explanatory but “service berry” might not be. That name comes from the way it blooms after the ground thaws, when spring burial services happened. “Saskatoon” is a Canadian name that came from the Cree tribe of Native Americans.
When I was a gardener I was always amazed by people’s reactions when they found out their prize plant or tree was bred from a common weed. My Shasta daisy came from a common weed!? You’d think they had just found out a relative had spent time in jail. Tramps and jailbirds are no different than anyone else. They just made different choices.
My son spent time in Korea and he said it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. I’m sure it must be, with all the bleeding hearts blooming in the wild. There’s another example of a weed becoming a garden plant!
Thanks, ? I don’t think I know your name. Publishing on Saturday is perfect for me. I enjoy reading your post when I have more time 🙂
Connie
Hi Connie. My name is Allen and I live in the southwestern corner of the state.
I used to post on Wednesday and Saturday but I had to cut it back to one day and I chose Saturday because that’s a day most have off. I’m glad it works for you!
We get our share of misty mornings here. Sometimes with deer or wild turkeys, or foxes or possums running a bit late. I like them a lot. Nice visit to the brook. The breaking Beech buds are beautiful and I really like all the blue of the scilla and hyacinths. I wouldn’t mind having some bleeding hearts in the shady spots here, but I’m afraid we are a bit beyond the zone for them, around 9 or 10.
Misty days are always good for seeing animals. I saw three deer but of course I didn’t have the right camera at the time because I didn’t want it to get wet.
Old fashioned bleeding hearts like those in this post will grow in zone 9, but I’d plant them in a place that gets only cooler morning sun.
There is a Pacific bleeding heart which I’ve always called fern leaved bleeding heart, and they’ll grow anywhere. I still have them coming up here and there in the yard from one I bought 30 years ago. I’d try them both, were I you.