We’ve been under another heat warning that has keep us inside more that we would have liked. We often take short walks through Harris Park and beyond, sometimes taking photos along the way. These don’t usually make it into our reports. Here is a random selection through the past few months.
April
In mid-April, although the trees were bare, Scilla and Sweet Violets covered the bank of the river. They both are introduced species and probably naturalized from the gardens at Eldon House that is situated at the top of the riverbank. Daffodils have made their way down the hill as well.
In mid-to-late April we visited the magnolia trees that bloom at Eldon House across the road.
Also in late April, we looked for the trout lilies that bloom on the bank below Eldon House. There were a few Yellow Trout Lilies and a large colony of white Fawn Lilies. These are native spring ephemerals that bloom before the leaves emerge on the trees and obstruct the sunlight. The plants do not produce flowers for the first four to seven years of their lives.
In the same location as the trout lilies, there are Redbud trees that were in bud in late April. The buds emerge all along the branches of the small trees. Redbuds are native to eastern North America. One authority has said that it is likely that Redbuds were initally found in Canada only on Pelee Island in Lake Erie. Because they have been planted as ornamental trees, Redbuds are now found farther north and west of their original range. Again, the trees on the bank appear to have naturalized from Redbuds in the Eldon House garden.
May
By early May, leaves were appearing on the trees.
The Redbuds were in full bloom. This week, we saw the fruit – flat pods that will turn red and produce seeds – hanging from the branches of the trees at Eldon House. The number of pods on each branch might explain how the trees have spread down the bank over the years.
We spent most of May exploring other places during the spring migration…
June
By early June, the canopy was fully green and new plants were in bloom.
Ribwort Plantain with halos of flowers.
Between early and mid-June, Canada Geese goslings were turning into awkward adolscents.
In mid-June, there was a summer snow storm of sorts when Eastern Cottonwood seeds started to disperse.
The rest of June will have to wait!
Flowers…
…not from Wandering Bee, but from our balcony.
Great Music from 1971
All of the songs on this playlist are permanently burned into my memory. Sometimes we are lucky enough to have a great live version. Sometimes the entire audience sings along.
Recently I learned that the first time Kris Kristofferson heard Janis Joplin’s recording of Me and Bobby McGee was after she had died. Kris and Janis were still very close friends at the time and she had been looking forward to seeing his reaction to her version.
