Nature is Never Spent

The pear trees bloomed late this year; not surprising, I suppose, after so many unseasonable cold snaps during what is usually our early spring. But they're in full blossom now. Even if I were blind, I'd be able to smell them everywhere, unfortunately. I've always thought they smell like something died, which totally makes sense if you're trying to attract flies as pollinators. Other people say the odor is like semen, but frankly I'd rather think of decay!

I'm traveling in the northern Midwest right now and it's been very insect-y! When it's swarms of gnats and mosquitoes, that's not so nice for us humans, but the bumblebees and beetles are lovely. My most exciting sighting was a bumblebee hawkmoth!



Here you can see the "bumblebee" coloration better.

( Also a nice cluster of beetles huddled together for the night. )

Continuing with the review of spring, in May the roadside wildflowers really started to get in gear, showy evening primrose in particular...



...including this adorable beetle. (Click to embiggen.)



By this time in May I had also observed a lot of honeysuckle, the first lance-leaved coreopsis, ladybugs, a hummingbird, and the cottonwood fluff flying like very soft shooting stars across a field of dark green.

Apr 20: ( Blossoms above my head )

April 21: Around this time, most of the fields are yellow with buttercups.

Another long absence, lots to catch up on! I'm going to take a few posts to review our Spring since my last post. It has continued to be an odd season, with more cold spells than warm ones much later than usual. Gardening has been a challenge! Lots of covering things overnight and bringing pots under the porch to protect them from cold and possible frost.

But back to March 28:
Spring Beauty is still blooming profusely.




April 2: Mayapple is spreading across the forest floor and a few blossoms have appeared under the "umbrella" leaves.

Hello, nature journal! I didn't mean to leave you for so long. Last year almost beat the light out of me, but I didn't stop observing. Here are my Springwatch dates for 2013.

January
12 - very warm weather, then tornadoes
15 - 1/2" sleet, schools closed
16 - spotted my first blooming daffodil of the year
25 - cedar waxwings migrating through
28 - spotted first Spring Beauty blooming
29 - tornado warnings
30 - lots of bluets blooming
31 - alder trees blooming (male catkins)

February
2 - pruned the fruit trees at the farm
12 - first noticed morning birdsong
14 - heard spring peepers (frogs) singing in a river bottom
23 - spotted a flock of pelicans in the river (migrating -- they don't live here)
23 - saw a plum tree in full bloom
24 - spotted a butterfly during a hike in the woods

March
14 - field of daffodils at local flower festival in full bloom
15 - tree pollen noticeable on outdoor surfaces
16 - peach & pear trees in orchard blooming
18 - bees humming in flowering quince bush

I don't have photos of everything, but here's an album with some representative ones.

( Catkins, moss and blossoms )

I think one of my favorite things was the bee. I was lying on the ground to photograph the quince bush with the pear tree in the background, and I heard the telltale drone. They were everywhere, buzzing around so happily, legs encrusted with pollen. They know spring has been upon us for awhile.

This afternoon I went for a walk in a local park that's reached by crossing a pedestrian bridge over a small river that intersects the big river. The park is on a sort of peninsula created by the two rivers, and the riverbanks are all bordered by reeds below steep, sandy slopes. While walking next to one of these banks, I spotted some yellow flowers growing out of the side. I'd never seen them before, so I scrambled (actually slipped and slid in the sand) down to take a quick photo.



I felt like they were some kind of evening primrose, but the pointed petals were a puzzle. They weren't in my state field guide, so I had to find them online. I'm pretty sure they are Variableleaf Evening Primrose (Oenothera heterophylla) or sandhill evening primrose. Apparently they're only found in four states. Very pretty thing growing in such poor conditions! Impressive pistil. The only trouble is they were among some of the nastiest burrs we have, field sandburrs, and of course I got at least thirty of the little buggers in my socks, pants and skin as I was scrambling back up the bank. The more you move, the further they dig in!

On Saturday, we had strong thunderstorms early in the morning, then gentle rain most of the day. It was such a blessing, so pleasant and so rare, I wanted to remember it with pictures.



( More wet images )

For me, when the mimosas are blooming and there are ripe blackberries in the brambles, Summer has unquestionably arrived. And here we are. I picked another handful of blackberries this morning. I think the ones I had last week were some escaped, recently domestic blackberries, but these were definitely wild -- tiny but very sweet, as sweet as the scent hanging in the mimosas around the corner.