Bud Break and Other Wonders

There are many spring wildflowers like this red trillium blooming now with more appearing each day, but we’re still on the temperature roller coaster. Two weeks ago we had snow on Tuesday, then we had 83 degrees the following Tuesday. This past Tuesday morning we had 26 degrees and a hard frost. The afternoon before, I got caught in a snow squall. So while the average temperature for this part of the state at this time is 60 degrees, I can’t remember the last time we had a 60 degree day. If you look closely you can see a seed pod already forming in the center of this flower. Here and gone quickly; that’s the spring ephemeral, so it isn’t just about where they are but when they are. If you don’t know when, where doesn’t matter. This is the kind of place most of what you’ll see in this post can be found. Deciduous trees that haven’t yet grown their leaves let abundant sunshine reach the forest floor, and that short sunny window in time sets off a quick explosion of spring ephemeral…