Magic in May

There are moments of pure magic that only happen in Spring; those few days when the combination of rain and sun clothe the stark architecture of winter in the glorious colours and shapes of Spring in a time-lapse moment.

There are wildflowers whose presence in the Spring is so momentary that they are referred to as 'ephemerals'. My favorite of these transitory spring surprises is the Eastern Spring Beauty, or Claytonia virginica. (Named after an American physician named John Clayton who collected several plants in Virginia) It is a delicate and tiny plant with nodding buds and pink-striped petals, whose discovery is for me a true serendipity because I have only seen it a handful of times.

Last night however, I pulled over the car to look closer at a patch of small flowers on a hillside and eureka!, not just Spring Beauty, but a whole patch of them! My husband, the unwitting passenger on this particular expedition, did wonder why he suddenly found himself travelling in reverse and his wife abandoning ship in the middle of this particular back road. 

Spring ephemeral wildflowers are triggered to grow before the trees fully leaf, and their flowering parts disappear quickly, so if you miss those brief moments, only the life in the roots remains of their presence. This was a truly remarkable and memorable sighting.

Bloodroot is considered by many to fit into the category of 'spring ephemeral', and while many are still blossoming, the earliest blooms have now dropped, their leaves are many times larger, and fruit is now appearing.

Another candidate is the Large-flowered Bellwort, sometimes called Merrybells. It can be as tall as 75cm (abt 30 in.) but most of the ones that I have seen are about half that. They look wilted and the bells always hang down.  

Some lists include trout lilies; the white ones are already dropping their blooms and the yellow ones are just blooming now...

Or bluebells which will likely blossom this week..

Or the trillium which will be at its best on dappled hillsides in the next week. No matter the criteria used to define these early spring plants, the common thread remains the brevity of their time in bloom, making them I think, unique and precious.

Then comes the day when you realize that the songbirds have returned! The canopy is busy with brightly coloured birds and the air is filled with new melodies. This time before the trees are fully covered with leaves, gives a short period when the the sun showcases the beautiful colours of the new arrivals. I heard the warble of this male Rose-breasted Grosbeak first, then had to search a ways up to find him.

The male Baltimore Oriole is so splendid. His mate is much more muted in colour and very shy. They will soon weave an amazing hanging nest from an upper branch and start a family. Most times these nests will not be visible until the leaves drop again. Orioles fly up from Central America to breed here, as do the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks; quite a journey.

The Gray Catbird arrives at the same time, having journeyed from the coastal areas of Central and North America. They are sleek in their sedate grey feathers with a black cap, but I love that they have this little rusty red patch under their tail that is just a little cheeky. They do sound just like a cat meowing but they also are able to mimic other bird songs and create a more than a little confusion for the listener.    

I also spotted my first Eastern Phoebe this week...at least I think so. The Phoebe is part of the flycatcher family and they are all quite similar, so I was never sure if I had seen a Phoebe or a Wood Pewee or a species of other flycatcher. I have been know to refer to them as 'UBB's' - ubiquitous brown birds.  

Many of the birds migrating north to breeding grounds are Warblers. They are often only in Southern Ontario for a few days and then continue north again. My first bird guide had a separate section for warblers labelled 'Confusing Spring Warblers' as well as 'Confusing Fall Warblers' which is not an auspicious start to bird identification. Turns out that it is difficult to tell if some birds are even warblers in the first place because of their similarities to other groups like vireos. As well, their spring colouring differs from their fall colouring and males differ from females as well as each other depending on their age. I will therefore say that I believe that the bird above is an adult male Yellow-rumped Myrtle Warbler in his spring plumage..and hope for the best. 

I will also take a bold leap and say that this is an adult male Palm Warbler, and further, a Spring "Western" Palm Warbler. Whew! It would be really easy to mistake one of these for a sparrow or a finch especially in its more muted fall plumage. This was a brand new sighting for me.

This is my favorite warbler, perhaps because it is readily identifiable and it can be seen in this area all summer. It is an adult Spring Yellow Warbler, a petite bit of 'feathered sunshine', once called the Summer Yellow Bird. I read that Cowbirds, who do not incubate their own eggs, are more likely to leave an egg in the nest of a Yellow Warbler. Odd, given the disparity in size between the Cowbird and the tiny Yellow Warbler and thus likely their eggs.  

In the world of green things, seemingly bare ground continues to produce magical things like this sweet Yellow Violet in the forest...

and my favorite Freckle Face Violet in our front garden. 

Green umbrellas are opening their shoots in the forest and on hillsides...

Horsetails are sprouting,

Scouring Rush spreading their branches,

 

and ferns unfurling. 

Fuzzy branches of Staghorn Sumac are showing buds,

the magical Tamarack tree, the only conifer to lose its needles in the fall, is now producing fresh new ones, 

and stands of Japanese Knotweed are pushing up bamboo-like stalks topped by leaf sets that look like arrow heads.

Flowering shrubs are opening their blooms,

like magnolias..

including this gorgeous Saucer Magnolia. 

Bergenias are blooming in what looks like a more delicate rhubarb patch,

and I saw these Lenten Rose, a less commonly seen Hellebore, blooming in a small garden in Glen Morris.

So what is it about these moments in May that is magical? I don't need a reminder of the transience of life, because each day brings evidence that life, peace, health and security can be fleeting. Maybe for me, these moments of beauty, sound and discovery are more like an energy shot; a boost of joy and hope for the soul, a vitamin supplement for the spirit.

The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.

Harriet Ann Jacobs 

..buds of May

The original phrase comes from Shakespeare's well-known sonnet;

                                         Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

                                     Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

                                     Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

                                     And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 

May seems to cause all sorts of poetical waxings, (perhaps not a word?) having to do with new life and green things and fresh starts. May Day is celebrated by many as Beltane, a fire festival celebrating the midpoint between spring equinox and summer solstice on the Celtic Wheel of the Year. It is the time of peak fertility and growth on a calendar that mirrors the seasons of agricultural practice; planting, growing, reaping and resting.

I read that the 'May' referred to, is not so much the month, as the tree; the May tree or Common Hawthorn that blossoms at this time is considered a fairy tree in Ireland and is the sixth tree on the Celtic tree calendar. It is to be treated with respect and is often associated with love and springtime, hence the May Tree. (Apparently in 1999 a road between Limerick and Galway was rerouted because a fairy tree was in the pathway.) 

As an aside, I wondered about May Day and Mayday and if there was some relation between the two. Mayday, the call for help, has nothing to do with Hawthorn trees but supposedly stems from the French 'm'aidez', although it might be said that if used, the situation is a 'thorny' one? ..sorry

One more aside..I had no idea that 106 countries around the world celebrate May Day as their Labour Day with parades that celebrate labourers and their achievements, and sometimes with protests about important issues that concern workers. In some Communist countries the military is also honoured on this day. 

To resume our already scheduled program...the buds of May, and not just the May tree, are becoming visible. 

Maple trees lend a reddish glow in the skyline that is lovely.

Tree buds and flowers are unique, like these male box elder flowers,

and these Eastern Cottonwood catkins. 

These are Hackberry buds,

and this oak still retains a complement of acorn caps.

I thought this was a lovely budding bouquet although I am not quite certain what it is.

At ground level, the spotted leaves of trout lilies leaves are visible. On several warm and protected hillsides I found patches of open blooms;

 yellow..

and white.

 Bluebells are sprouting,

and Scilla are blooming.

 I saw a solitary wee clump of Rue Anemones,

 Marsh marigolds

and dandelions, which are often the first source of nectar until other spring plants flower.

In the world of winged things the early butterflies are visible;

 the shapely Comma,

 the Mourning Cloak

and the Red Admiral. These butterflies overwinter as adults so are seen earliest in the spring.

The winged and feathered neighborhood is growing with species who visit our area to nest.

 Sandhill cranes are gathering in ponded areas.

 Northern Flickers are looking for mates and nesting sites.

 Spotted Sandpipers can be seen again on river edges,

and male Hooded Mergansers will raise their white crests to court females and then look for holes in trees to nest in. 

Female Red-winged blackbirds have now followed the male birds to nesting areas that the males, who arrived some weeks earlier, have established. Nests will be built at the base of the reeds and each male will keep guard of up to 15 females and their nests. Yikes!

It was a wonderful surprise to see this Night-Heron perched along the canal. These birds nest in colonies in wetlands so this solitary bird, that is showing the pinkish legs of a breeding bird, is probably just roosting for the day and will travel by night and join other birds in a marsh in the area.

Our local birds, like the Wild Turkey, are visible in fields trying to impress the ladies with their display.

Cardinals are vocally marking their territory and guarding their nests.

For the first time I actually saw a cardinal nest which was in  a large shrub on the canal bank. When the leaves come out it will be invisible.

This Canada Goose has nested early and already has a brood of goslings that she shepherds along the canal. Many geese are still sitting on a nest mound incubating their eggs.

 Finally, on the furry front...

I came across this evidence of spring cleaning at the base of a hillside where there were several chipmunk holes. Maybe the burrow was being emptied out to make room for nesting. Does can breed twice a year and the pups are ready to leave the nest after 4 to six weeks.

This wary squirrel could be guarding a nest. Squirrels can have two litters a year; one in Jan-Feb, and the next in Jun-Jul. Babies take about 12 weeks to mature so this nest might be full of youngsters busy learning squirrel stuff before they can go out and meet the world.

There might already be fawns in our local White-tailed deer population, but most are born closer to the end of May. Does will leave their fawns in deep grasses for the day while they forage, but will always return to them. Sometimes people come upon fawns and mistakenly believe that they have been abandoned, but fawns should be left to be cared for by their mothers.

May reminds us that in the midst of a constantly changing world, some things remain the same. Winter does finally end and the ground will warm and green things will sprout. It is reassuring to see the grass turn green after the spring rains, to hear the songs of the birds once more, and to see the beauty of those earliest wildflowers. It is important to see the dark now balanced with light and life following seeming death. Spring is a bit behind this year, so each new bud and song is a cause for celebration.