O.K., if “April showers bring May flowers”, what, in the name of all saints are we going to get based upon our most recent weather extravaganzas? Gonna be some flowers!
Speaking of which (Great segue, eh?), I’ve got all sorts of things coming up around here. As usual, I don’t know what most of them are until they’re in full bloom but I am recognizing the hostas and lillies, tulips and astilbes; they’re easy. There seems to be at least one anemone, one columbine and a primrose. The forget-me-nots are out in force and I’m pretty sure the catmint is making a return appearance. I’ve spotted several trilliums and the ferns are starting to look like real plants and not just stumps. I am also delighted to report that I have a
small–very small–patch of Dutchman’s Breeches. I just love these, partly because of the name, and the fact that they do look like a small pair of pantaloons–with yellow waistbands–hung out to dry–upside-down. Why these were believed to belong to Dutchmen rather than to, say, Brits, I’m sure I don’t know. They’re native woodland flowers and I recently spotted two more small patches along the Headwaters Trail. I just hope that they’ll do well here; the Hepatica that I planted some time ago seems to have disappeared. At the Big Home and Garden Show I got some bulbs for what the Ohio Agriculture Research Center down in Wooster called flowering fern but so far I haven’t seen anything that looks like it might turn into that. I did purchase some really big pots–really big–that I have put some blackberry and some raspberry plants in, as well as a blueberry plant in another, slightly smaller, pot. Gonna be Fruit City around here if they all survive…and if I can get them covered before the birds discover them. Luckily, I don’t believe that squirrels are into fruits as much as they were into birdseed. The raspberry plants seem to have suffered some sort of trauma but we’ll see if they can soldier on and actually produce a berry or two.
Astronomical almanac review : Did anyone else catch the Pink Super Moon the other day, or the other night, I guess? It really was pretty impressive at rising, even though the cloud cover moved in rather rapidly, it still looked impressive in the early morning. According to the AB-J almanac guy the “Pink” part had nothing to do with the actual color of the moon but related to the blossoming going on at this time of the year. All caused, of course, by the fact that the moon was at its closest approach to the Earth…closest this year anyway, there are going to be a couple more “super moons” in 2020.
And you have a chance to view the upcoming Lyrid Meteor Shower. You’ll have to either cut short your wild-n-crazy nightlife after midnight or rouse yourself from slumber at an ungodly hour–say, 2-4 a.m. on April 21-22 (Tuesday night into Wednesday morning). This yearly event just happens to fall on Earth Day this year. It’s also International Dark Sky Week, reminding us to turn off unnecessary outside light so we can actually see what’s up there…and not confuse the birds and animals out there which orient themselves by the starlight, or the sunlight, for that matter.
The whole shebang should be pretty visible, since it’s taking place during a phase called New Moon, which, contrary to what it sounds like, actually means that there is no visible moon at all. At least one source mentioned that we could possibly expect to see between ten and twenty meteors per hour, starting about 2 a.m. The shower itself begins in or near the constellation Lyra. I have no idea where that might be but if the meteors are coming at 15-20 per hour( as mentioned by another expert), I suspect that I’ll be able to figure it out. We’ll all have until the 25th to get a handle on it. Two A.M.!
Continuing with our Spring celebration…. The banks of the creek downtown by the Boardwalk are blooming nicely. As a matter of fact, there are a number of places around that are really getting into the landscape/gardening mode–one on Center St. comes to mind–with new plantings, brickwork, decorative stones, all that sort of thing. Good on ‘em (as we say down in Oz). Don’t forget to replace those trees that have had to give up the ghost from age or storm damage or whatever. Well-chosen trees will enhance almost any residence, whether by providing shade and temperature control, attracting birds and such, given sufficient maturity they are excellent hide-outs, jungle gyms, reading nooks and visual amendment…and food, if you plant fruit trees!
Oh, and the blue heron is back (though the bird still wants nothing to do with me), the mama goose is still sitting on that nest, a toad appeared by the backyard water feature, an expiring houseplant is reviving, having been put outside on the porch rail–must be Spring! At last!
