This is for those of you who are doing the right thing by staying home, so as not to spread the virus, and wonder what’s going on up here.
Well, we’ve entered what I call “high spring.”
The sarvis has faded. Interestingly, the sarvis on the south side of the ridge never came at all. I wonder if there was more damage from the drought two years ago over there than on the north side of the ridge.
The crab apples are just now beginning to bloom.
The black oaks are hanging heavy with catkins, so I imagine they are dropping their pollen.
We had two young Carolina wren, and momma has been singing her head off all day. We had what looked like a 1st 1st winter yellow-rumped warbler – or maybe myrtle warbler – like I can tell the difference – I’m lucky if I can tell it’s a warbler. My companion pointed out that if I were wearing my Magee Marsh shirt, I wouldn’t have to look at the bird book. (It’s a white shirt, and it makes me look like a dork, but it depicts all their spring migrants.)
Our trillium is just up, maybe 2 inches tall. Maybe some Solomon’s seal also.
I may have seen the first red spotted purple, based on the flight. Odd, as there are usually lots of them by this point in the spring. Several large yellow sulphur butterflies. One dusky, very sharp forewinged butterfly on the redbuds who may have had a forewing spot. Maybe about an inch long. Probably some kind of skipper. Many tiger swallowtails and other small butterflies I can’t identify. Perhaps the first angle-wing, but they are not mating in the yard yet. The predominant butterfly is the tiger swallowtail.
I’ve seen black wasps for a while, but I saw the first red wasp today.
The azalea is not blooming here yet, but I did see a couple of blooms south of Ocoee Animal Clinic, down in the woods. Had to go there the other day for dog meds.
Dogwoods, not quite yet. May be out at lower elevations.
First morel mushroom, looked more than a few days old. If you want to look, if we have a warm overnight rain, that’s the time.