It’s been unseasonably hot. I haven’t seen 90 0n the porch yet, but I have seen 89. It’s unusual for June. In what I think of as a normal summer, we might get to these temperatures the last two weeks in August, but rarely before.
The sourwoods are blooming with their wonderful bell shaped flowers gracing the tops of the trees. Most of ours are small, but according to Kirkman in Native Trees of the Southwest, they can get to 50 feet high and 10-12 inches in diameter. I can see some pretty big ones in the binoculars, looking over to Dividing Ridge. Kirkman considers them underutilized as ornamentals, and I can testify that their bright red fall colors are one of the highpoints of the mountain fall.
Interesting bird visitors have been the Scarlet Tanager, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and the Grest Crested Flycatcher. The Red-eyed Vireo has been calling incessantly, and the other vireos have made an appearance. I can hear the usual yard birds – all the woodpeckers, the White-breasted Nuthatch, the Pine Warbler, the Titmouse, the Carolina Chickadee, Cardinal, and the Blue Jay – pretty much every day. We’ve also had a Wood Thrush – I hear they are getting rare – and a Brown Thrasher. The usual hawks – the Broad-winged and the Redtailed – have been in the air.
I’ve heard the Katydids tuning up in the afternoon or at dusk, but they haven’t been singing in the evening, at least until I go to bed. They come out of the ground, like locusts, and for that reason, I don’t think they like a really wet spring. I hope their numbers are good this summer, because I love to fall asleep to the sounds of their singing.
The full moon seems to be July 10. I say seems to be, as the various calendars report it differently.
I haven’t been around the creeks – and I really need to do that soon – so don’t know if the Rhododendron – locally known as Mountain Laurel – is in bloom. But it’s getting to be about that time.