A spring hodge-podge....

 June 2, 2025

The weather roller coaster continues. Another inch plus of cold rain fell over the weekend, and all the insects were laying low. The sky cleared out late in the day yesterday, and we were so very close to frost last night, but went to bed secure that I'd done everything I could to prevent the consequences. Today will be a different story, as the temperature is supposed to go up... the heat that is out west is heading our way. 

 In gardening business, my haskaps bloomed early when there were no pollinators out and about, and the results are visible now...very little fruit has formed. Sadly, that seems to now be a recurring yearly saga. 

Despite the influx of potato beetles last summer, I planted a small bed of potatoes, because home grown taste immeasurably better than store bought. It won't be enough for winter storage, but the bed will be manageable if the bugs descend. 

The brassica bed is loving this weather, as are spinach, alliums and lettuce. 

In the woods, the Yellow Clintonia ( blue bead lily) is blooming now. 

It always seems to be such a brief time until those yellow blooms turn into fat blue berries...
 

 Star flowers are everywhere in full bloom, here nestled against the trunk of a white pine.

 The sunlight shining through these newly minted fern fronds attracted me,

 as do the pond reflections on a calm spring evening.

 Bunch berries are just starting to bloom, their greenish-white hue will change over to pure white as time goes on. 

Baneberries are blooming. I think this one is white, as I've seen the 'doll's eyes' in this location later in the year. 

 Along another trail, I found this false morel..what a gnarly looking specimen. (Sorry its crooked)

In the critter department...I found this young snapper basking on a rock by the pond one day, and he wasn't about to desert his warm space, no matter how close I got. He just pulled his head in and waited for me to leave.

 Two moose on trail cameras on opposite sides of the property...Same moose, or different moose??? 

Just recently, the activity in the Blue bird box has up-ticked, as the eggs have hatched. Papa Blue is now in on the action, as both parents are going in and out of the box constantly. 

 Lilacs are almost fully out, and seemingly out of nowhere, the Eastern yellow swallowtail butterflies have appeared, nectaring on all the blooms, but so far, no Monarchs.

I discovered this oddity along a trail recently, a wild strawberry plant with variegated leaves.

Last summer, I rooted runners from my strawberry plants and planted them in a strawberry tower which overwintered in the root cellar along with the fig tree I got as a bare root plant last spring. The strawberry plants are doing well, and I hope to be able to protect them from the chipmunks in their new digs. The fig tree now has 7 figs growing.

The root cellar that Hubby built in the summer of /23, has proven to be very useful for more than storing food. The last few potatoes in there are just now starting to put out tiny sprouts. Everything has kept extremely well.