May 24th
The 144th Day of the Year

Salve ver optatum,
amantibus gratum,
gaudiorum
fax multorum….

Hail, long desired spring,
boon to lovers,
shining light of joy….

MSS Benedictbeuern

Sunrise/set: 6:13/8:51 Day's Length: 14 hours 38 minutes
Average High/Low: 75/54 Average Temperature: 64
Record High: 90 - 1975 Record Low: 36 - 1925

Weather
The sixth high pressure system of the month is due today, and statistics show some of its strength. There is a 15 percent chance for an afternoon high only in the 50s, and another five percent for 60s. Although that leaves plenty of room for warmth (80 percent chance for 70s or 80s), the risk of light frost does enter the realm of possibility for the next 72 hours. Rain on May 24th is usually light, with only 35 percent of the days bringing precipitation. Skies are mostly clear on this date three days out of four.

Natural Calendar
Middle summer's wood nettle is past knee high. Wild lettuce, wingstem, and dogbane have grown up hip high. Grasses along the river bank are waist high. Poison hemlock reaches chin high, angelica over your head. The dusky violet smoke bush is in full bloom.

The First Week of Early Summer
After peonies come in and the flowers of the yellow poplar open, past the decline of poppies, the last leaves of the canopy cover Yellow Springs. When the high foliage is complete, then wild multiflora roses and domestic tea roses bloom, clustered snakeroot hangs with pollen in the shade, and parsnips, goatsbeard and sweet clovers take over the fields. Swamp valerian blossoms along the creeks, timothy pushes up from its sheaths at South Glen, and orange day lilies come in down Grinnell Road.
Elderberry bushes and catalpa trees flower along the highways. Cow vetch, wild parsnips, poison hemlock, angelica, motherwort, blackberries, yarrow, and the rough Canadian thistles bloom below the Vale. Black raspberries set their fruit. Ragweed and Jerusalem artichoke stalks are more than two feet tall, the corn has sprouted, and farmers are taking the first cut of alfalfa. On Monday, Heartbeat Community Farm delivers its first harvest of vegetables.
Daisies, golden Alexander, cressleaf groundsel, sweet rocket and common fleabane still hold in the pastures, but the violet heads of chives and allium decay. Wild onions and domestic garlic get their seed bulbs. Weathered May apples have fruit the size of cherries. Petals of mock orange, honeysuckle, lupine and Dutch iris fall to the garden floor. Osage and black walnut flowers come down in the rain. Under the closing canopy, late spring's garlic mustard, columbine, geraniums, ragwort, chickweed and catchweed die back, their yellow foliage dividing May from June.
Flea beetles attack beet greens in your garden. Aphids multiply on Heliopsis plants. Damselflies and dragonflies hunt the ponds. Leafhoppers, corn borers and armyworms assault the crops. Flies are bothering the cattle, ticks roam the brambles, cricket song grows louder, and the earliest fireflies flicker in the lawn. Tadpoles turn into toads and frogs and finally move to land. Young squirrels, half grown, explore the maples, and almost every Glen gosling and wood duck has hatched.

Daybook
1982: First wild roses seen, and yarrow open by the railroad tracks.

1984: South Glen: First bloom on the parsnips, waterleaf still full, wood nettle reaching up to replace it, sweet Cicely and garlic mustard still dominant, violets gone, yarrow budding, canopy still not complete.

1985: First motherwort blooms.

1986: Connie reports cottonwood cotton at Crystal Lake.

1987: Mayflies everywhere along the river, and gold-collared black flies mating. Angelica over my head, budding, first Japanese honeysuckle flowering, English ryegrass discovered in early bloom. Garlic mustard droops, closes the path with its seed heads. Chickweed and bedstraw are pale and dying back. Sweet Cicely gone to seed. First wild roses. No chiggers yet.

1990: At the Covered Bridge, sweet rockets are still full bloom, tall buttercups cover the swamp, angelica and parsnips coming in, wild garlic heading, first damselfly seen, poison ivy budding, sweet Cicely gone, white violets holding, yellow poplar flowers falling to the path, red admirals still common, late honeysuckle, very late garlic mustard.

1991: Flock of cedar waxwings in the reddening mulberries today.
Last of the Siberian iris and mock orange in the yard.

1992: Hemlock full bloom along Dayton street. Siberian iris early full today, mock orange full.

1993: The first Siberian iris was beginning to flower before I went to work; after a day of wind and light rain, four were completely open. The first strawberry reddened today. A small cluster of locust flowers fell to the lawn, its scent piercing and beautiful. When I was out walking later, the night wind was full of locust bloom.

1995: First ripe strawberry today. All the azalea flowers have fallen in the rain. Peonies and locusts blooming in Xenia.

1997: Azalea flowers half fallen. Wild cherry trees seen in full bloom along the freeway. First yellow sweet clover. Early locusts seen. First June bug came to the screen door after dark. At 5:00 a.m. birdsong is still strong, and continues past dawn. Honeysuckles are in full bloom in the yard and everywhere. The two violet iris in the yard are closing just as the first two mock orange flowers open. Canopy still far from complete, osage holding back, locusts. Many other species with only half-size leaves.

1998: Robins, cardinals, doves, crows loud at 5:00 a.m. No letup in birdsong this morning! If there is a decline of calls in late May, it wasn’t evident today. Purple water iris blooms late this morning. In the pond, the tadpoles have changed their habits over the past week or so. First they began to feed together in three or four large groups. Instead of their haphazard independence, each going in its own direction, they seemed to have developed a sense of solidarity. And now over the past two days they have become secretive, suddenly moving to the edges of the pond and hiding and feeding in the algae there.

1999: First miniature turban lily today as blue flags decline.

2000: The turban lily didn’t open today, in spite of 80 degree heat. That measures this year a little later than last.

2001: First cardinal at 5:27 a.m., faint bird chorus then. Doves joining by 4:47. Japanese honeysuckles opening up now. High locusts and the last of the high canopy filling in. The air is fragrant with roses, honeysuckles, mock orange, privet, peonies. Early peak of Japanese iris in the pond, and the other plants are spreading quickly. No turban lily this year, the plant probably swallowed up by weeds.

2002: Black walnut, angelica, and parsnips early full bloom. First blackberry and sweet William flower seen. Thrush heard.

2003: At South Glen: blackberries and first orange day lilies are in bloom, wild cherry finished. Grasses – brome and orchard grass – up to my waist.

2004: First yellow primrose, first short, orange Asiatic lily bloomed today. Pollen heads on the native fern. Rockets fading quickly. Allium, pale violet clematis and garlic mustard done. Seeds have formed on the redbud. Scabiosa full bloom.

2006: Multiflora roses suddenly open in the alley as the snowball viburnum rusts. Momentum gathering in the blue flags. Sweet rockets and iris full. Snow on the mountain budding. Greg reported that a mother skunk was transferring her babies one by one from his yard to underneath the neighbor's shed. Jeni, visiting from Portland, says her azaleas have just ended, and the rhododendrons have just started blooming. This is rose festival time in Portland, too, she says.

2007: First privet flowers seen on our walk this morning. The white clematis continues full bloom along the east fence. One of the new poppies opened over the night, and more are budded. More lilies are budding: the season should start in a day or two. Cedar waxwing heard in the back yard this afternoon.

2008: A sense of the quieting of birdsong these mornings after dawn: an entirely different regimen. Fourteen Dutch iris in bloom. Seeds well formed on the back standard redbud. Stella d’oros seen in bloom in Xenia on the 22nd. Some of the ones I transplanted last year have small buds now.

May 25th
The 145th Day of the Year

C'etait le temps de l'ete, au mois de mai, ou les jours sont longs, et les nuits tranquilles et douces....
It was the time of summer, in the month of May, when the days are long, and the nights are still and sweet....

Aucassin et Nicolette

Sunrise/set: 6:12/8:52 Day's Length: 14 hours 40 minutes
Average High/Low: 75/54 Average Temperature: 64
Record High: 95 - 1911 Record Low: 33 - 1925

Weather
Even though 60 percent of May 25ths are in the 70s or 80s, a full 40 percent are not, making it the day with the most potential for chilly conditions since the 15th. A five percent chance for a high only in the 40s appears in weather history for the first time since May 9th. Fifties occur ten percent of the time, and 60s another 25 percent. Light frost is a distinct possibility this morning and tomorrow morning, and along with the increased likelihood for cold, the chances for rain rise from yesterday's 35 percent all the way to 50 percent. Clouds dominate 50 percent of the time, making today one of the two cloudiest days of the month (the 12th is the other). In 1895, the local paper reported that quail's egg-size hail fell for 15 minutes on this date, and left two inches of ice on the ground.

Natural Calendar
Wood hyacinths and spring beauties disappear. Violets stop blooming until autumn. Dogwood petals are taken down by the rain and wind. The last of the lilacs turn brown. Early snowball hydrangeas lose their luster. Sweet Cicely goes to seed. Garlic mustard and winter cress weaken under the closing canopy. Spring phlox are getting old. Ragwort flowers turn to fluffy seed heads. Watercress falls over in the sun. The last tulips and latest daffodils are gone.

Daybook
1982: First ripe strawberries picked. Today marked the end of hydrangea season in the yard, the beginning of yellow sweet clover season along the roadsides. Wild mallow opening now in the north garden.

1983: At Clifton Gorge: columbine, winter cress, ragwort, garlic mustard, black snakeroot, sweet rockets, fleabane, violets, sweet Cicely, pepper grass, and robin's fleabane found. Wild rose ready to flower. Except for a few of the tallest trees, the canopy is complete. The touch-me-nots are rising above the waterleaf, mosquitoes follow me back to the truck.

1984: Last lilacs disappear. First mock orange blooms.

1986: The first honewort discovered beyond the Covered Bridge, first flower of the completed canopy, sure sign of summer. Lizard's tail was all leafed out, one to two feet tall. Boneset two feet. Garlic mustard almost all gone, tall and leaning now, the most obvious deterioration of spring growth. Clearweed nettle was up two inches, had sprouted maybe a week before. Tall meadow rue was ready. Sweet Cicely and catchweed gone to seed. Sweet rockets getting late. First gold-collared blackfly seen. Wild lettuce up to my waist. Rare anemone Canadensis blossoming, golden Alexander full, and henbit. Purple vetch in bloom. Spitbugs seen, and first mayfly. Canopy complete. Suckers in the shallows near shore. First motherwort opening at home.

1987: Japanese honeysuckle flowers.

1989: East to New Jersey for my nephew’s wedding: Leaving Yellow Springs in the rain, the maple canopy full, sycamores light, osage barely leafing, first peonies opening. Along the freeway, daisies and rockets in full bloom all the way to the coast. Tree line stable into the mountains, then thinning in the higher Appalachians, to a week or two weeks earlier than in Yellow Springs. Across one meadow, dandelions were still in full bloom. In eastern Pennsylvania, sweet clover, rhododendrons, and purple vetch were in full bloom, canopy complete. On the other side of the mountains, the New Jersey countryside had yellow poplars and locusts in flower, parsnips and hemlock blooming, a few huge thistles opening.

1990: First ripe strawberry picked today. Full decline of the snowball viburnum.

1991: Catalpas full bloom, and osage flowers fall, mulberries have turned red.

1992: Violet swamp iris in bloom across from the Covered Bridge.

1993: Dogwoods are gone; I missed their last days. Peak time of poppies, iris, daisies, buttercups, fleabane, snow-on-the-mountain. Astilbe spikes shoot up. The locusts increase in intensity, shading the new green canopy with their cream white flowers. First day lily opened along Grinnell this afternoon. Clematis full bloom.

1995: Spiderwort full bloom now in the south garden, with the daisies and sweet rockets and poppies and ranunculus.

1997: First dark blue spiderwort opens in the south garden. The red-violet spiderworts have produced one or two flowers this past week.

1998: A flock of cedar waxwings in the back locusts this afternoon. Now the roses are at the peak of their first bloom, reds and yellows and pinks.

1999: The first water lily is blooming today, 32 flat, round leaves encircling it.

2000: Half-red mulberries seen on the street.

2001: South Glen: Gold-collared blackflies and red admiral butterflies common, sweet rockets fading, angelica and white campion full bloom, some very late honeysuckle, first green-bodied black-winged damselflies of the year, orchard grass too tough to pull or chew, brome emerging, canopy above complete. At home, lamb’s ear has been full now for a week, pacing the pollen spikes on the wild pond iris. Bridal wreath is done at Susi’s. Glowing pink spirea started yesterday at Washington Court House.

2003: A flock of cedar waxwings in the white mulberry at noon today.

2004: Blue flag iris disappeared as quickly as they came, less than week of bloom.

2005: Northern Spring Field Cricket heard in the yard today.

2007: Two cedar waxwings seen in the white mulberry at about 8:45 this morning. Mock orange flowers are almost completely down. Purple columbines still strong throughout the alley gardens, some poppies and iris, some pink bush roses, some red. Blue flags and sweet Williams holding. New blue-purple midnight salvia planted on the west corner of the north garden. Very first achillea opening. Kousa dogwoods in full bloom throughout the village. Caladiums planted in pots this afternoon.

May 26th
The 146th Day of the Year

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

Robert Herrick

Sunrise/set: 6:12/8:53 Day's Length: 14 hours 41 minutes
Average High/Low: 76/55 Average Temperature: 65
Record High: 95 - 1911 Record Low: 37 - 1897

Weather

Clouds and rain rule the 26th of May half the time. Highs in the 50s occur ten percent of the days, rise to the 60s on 20 percent, to the 70s on 40 percent, and to the 80s on 30 percent.

Natural Calendar
By this time of year, slugs are usually roaming the garden. Flies are bothering the livestock. Bean leaf beetles are common in the fields. Alfalfa weevil and leaf hopper infestations become more troublesome. White-marked tussock moths attack the elms; May beetles find the oaks; scurfy scale comes to the lindens. Tadpoles move to land. Cricket song grows louder. Mosquitoes become more pesky. Dragon flies appear along the river. The earliest fireflies come out to mate.

Daybook
1982: First baby robins seen. Wild iris open in the swamp. Grackles still nesting.

1983: A whole field of daisies seen today at Wilberforce.

1984: Mulberries about half size. Ash tree outside my window is flowering.

1985: Sunrise at Grinnell, walk up into John Bryant Park: flowers of the yellow poplar all over the path, first yarrow and multiflora
rose open, dogbane budding, early bright fire pink, catchweed with burs. Leafcup, wood nettle, coneflowers, nettle, wingstem all three to four feet. First mosquito bite of the year. Great Indian plantain with small bud cluster on a plant that comes up to my chest. Honewort buds. Solomon's plume gone. Most ragwort gone. Catalpas full bloom everywhere and falling. Blackberries and meadow goat's beard in full bloom. The last week of sweet rockets, robin's fleabane, white violets. Hobblebush budding, wild geraniums gone, redbuds have seed pods, some reddish, some green. First dragon fly seen and the first daisy fleabane. Purple vetch full bloom, first nodding thistle, first cinquefoil, yarrow. This afternoon: first chicory in Dayton.

1986: At Cowan Lake, poison ivy has its first flowers, common
cinquefoil well along, and blue-eyed grass (Thoreau found it on
the 30th, near Concord, 1856). At Antioch School, red spirea has
opened.

1988: Down Jacoby Branch for the first time: Blackberries
flowering. Northern Spring Field Crickets loud, black raspberry
fruit setting, great mullein almost two feet, grasses chest high.
Groundhogs plentiful. Time of sweet rockets and corn salad. Bright
green six spotted tiger beetles along the maze of deer paths. A young buck seen, antlers maybe a third grown. Thin orange-bodied darners. First leaf hopper, first gold-collard blackfly seen, grasshoppers seen with yellow inner wings, first cinquefoil and yarrow open. Dock in flower, catchweed pulling and tangling around my ankles. Orange blight all over the blackberries. Tight green bud clusters on the poison ivy. Well into the woods, the ruins of a farm, charred timbers, rusted implements overgrown with chickweed and catchweed, locusts surrounded by the block foundation, the old yard a glade of bromegrass. Further south along the river, lots of turtles with smooth shells and pointed noses, first blue-bodied damselfly. Last of the golden ragwort, watercress still late full in the shade, old and falling over in the sun. Two-foot boneset in the swamp.

1989: Eastern Pennsylvania: lilacs still bloom at Somerset. In New Jersey, the countryside is almost two weeks ahead of Yellow Springs. At home mock orange, peonies, iris and locusts in
full bloom, heavy sweetness day and night. There's no better time than now in spring and summer.

1990: Red admiral in the garden.

1991: First two fireflies seen high in the back locust trees. Baby robin in the yard, maybe a week or two old. White waterleaf
in the pussy willow garden finally blooms.

1993: Half grown groundhog seen on Grinnell. A dozen deep purple Siberian iris in bloom. End of the lily-of-the-valley and the bridal wreath spirea, snowball viburnum rusting. The wood hyacinths disappeared a week or so ago. Mulberries are about half size, green. Outside my window, the ash tree has golden flower clusters in late bloom. Along the east hedge, wild grapes are in full bloom, delicate inflorescence almost swallowed up by the forsythia. Rhododendron seen completely open along Union Street. Purple nightshade full bloom near North Glen. Pale pink peonies early full in the yard, honeysuckle half done.

1994: Bright orange geum opened today, and the first peony in the yard, and the first Siberian iris. Lupines are still full bloom.

1995: First small bowl of strawberries picked from the garden this morning. First pale pink peonies opened in the yard. Blue flags are coming into full bloom, white and violet iris continuing to blossom. Privet buds showing white along High Street. Last of the apple blossoms fell from the late trees this week.

1997: At Irmgardís, there is a bank of bright purple rockets maybe 100 yards long and 50 feet deep. By the side of her driveway, the first roses have come out.

1998: Cedar waxwings spend another day in our locusts and mulberries. Now all the chard has been transplanted, and can be picked for salads. The Bibb lettuce is perfect. Foxglove, sweet Williams, at their peak. In the pond, Jacques the green frog started calling again after maybe six weeks of silence. And the tadpoles are getting fewer and fewer, more and more hidden. Is Jacques hunting them?

2000: Into North Glen with Mike this morning: saw the first gold-collared black fly, found fire pink and colombo (tall spike of greenish, four-petaled flowers, each petal containing a round wart-like bump), white violets, clustered snakeroot, a few last white and blue waterleaf. Late spring flowers were gone, the canopy complete, and May apple foliage was rusting here and there. In the yard, late iris, poppies and peonies are gone now, along with the mock orange and the horseradish. But the air is still heavy with full blooming privet and Japanese honeysuckle.

2003: First Japanese honeysuckle blooms as the last of the rhododendrons unravels. Privet still not open all the way. Two red admirals seen in the garden today. A few moths have been starting to come to the porch light at night.

2007: White yarrow opening at Moya’s. Mateo’s dense yellow sedum was in bloom this morning. White-flowered penstemon opening. . First lamb’s ear flowering. Cedar waxwings still feeding in the mulberry tree. Sparrows, starlings, grackles, cardinals, one blue jay and a nuthatch at the feeder throughout the day. The sweet rockets, sweet Williams, midnight salvia, spiderwort, dead nettle, and the last of the blue flag iris create the first major line of color along the north garden. In the afternoon, young grackles and a parent on the lawn, the babies demanding to be fed. Iris declining in town, peonies still completely full bloom in the countryside on the way to Enon. Hemlock tall and in flowering in the swales and pastures. One hardy water lily and three water hyacinths placed in the pond this evening. Pond iris are still in full bloom.

 

May 27th
The 147th Day of the Year

The whole leafy forest stands display'd
In full luxuriance.

James Thomson

Sunrise/set: 6:11/8:54 Day's Length: 14 hours 43 minutes
Average High/Low: 76/55 Average Temperature: 65
Record High: 99 - 1911 Record Low: 33 - 1961

Weather
As the sixth high pressure system of the month moves off to
the east, the likelihood for cold temperatures decreases; these forces often make the 27th one of the nicer days in late May. Although chances for rain are close to 50 percent, the sun shines through the clouds 85 percent of the time. Highs are in the 80s forty percent of the days, in the 70s on 35 percent, in the 60s twenty-five percent, and the possibility for frost is remote.

Natural Calendar
Pickle planting is completed throughout Ohio by now, and framers are harvesting zucchini and squash. The earliest corn is six to twelve inches tall, soybeans three to four. More than half the winter wheat has headed. South along the Kentucky border, one tobacco bed in four is typically full of plants.

Daybook
1983: First peony noticed on Pleasant Street, first roses seen in town.

1984: Mill Habitat: First grasshopper. Frogs croaking.

1985: First blue-bodied damselfly, and the first fireflies. Yellow sweet clover and parsnips in full bloom dominate the landscape with their June yellow.

1987: Osage flowers fall. Roses are at their best. Most mock orange season is over. Siberian iris holds on. At the river, 8:45 p.m., no crickets heard, fish leaping in the dark, geese and goslings swim by. First fireflies seen.

1988: Apples an inch long, three fourths of an inch wide.
First fireflies signaling in the wildflowers along the river after dark.

1993: Geese fly over the house at 6:25 a.m. for the first time in months. At South Glen, long-tailed blackflies mating. The canopy is complete except for the locusts (which are still in full bloom). Sweet Cicely gone to seed, daddy longlegs maybe half grown, bleeding heart and azaleas completely gone.

1994: Ash and locusts in full bloom, tulip tree flowers falling.

1995: Now the sweet rockets are coming to the end of the cycle in the south garden. Tulip trees are in full bloom around town. Lindens have buds and pale yellow seed pods. My green ash has also made its slender pods. The air is fragrant with mock orange and locust, peonies and iris. Along the boulevard of High Street, the garlic mustard has almost all gone to seed, mulberries have formed, and grape vines are in full bloom. In the backyard, the high locusts still have a few flowers left.

1997: First Siberian iris opened today, would have been yesterday except for the cold and rain. White mulberry leaves have suddenly developed to maybe a third size over the past week, after waiting until almost all the other trees had leafed out.

1999: First water iris blooms in the pond. Cottonwood cotton drifting through town today. Lamb’s ear tall and flowering. Late peonies hold, late flags. Poppies continue in the south garden, gone most other places. More miniature Turk’s cap lilies open. Fleabane late full, water cress holds, arrowhead leaves taking on some width. Wild water iris holds its pollen phallus. Hollyhock and yucca heading up.

2000: Nodding thistles have been blooming west of town for about a week, the earliest ever. Achillea opening in the north garden.

2001: First primrose opens at ten this morning. Tree buds and two flowers on the red water lily. Last of the mock orange, peonies and blue flag. Japanese honeysuckle has replaced the regular honeysuckle.

2002: First water lily opened today. Azaleas, sweet rockets, ranunculus, daisies, spiderwort in full bloom. First red admiral seen.

2003: Robins strong when I got up at 5:30. Doves called at 5:47 a.m., blue jay and a blackbird at about 6:00. No cardinals singing in the neighborhood.

2004: Peonies are tattered. Mock orange is almost all gone. Japanese honeysuckle is in full bloom.
From Gerry Strei, received today:
Sorry for the lonnnng time getting back to you, Wlf, but I’ve been trying to get away from the computer for a vacation of sorts. I went to MN for 10 days recently to experience their marvelous springtime for the first time in maybe 40 years. I’d been promising myself a trip during lilac season for several years now, and I hit it just right. It also coincided with Sister Evelyn’s birthday and so we made a family reunion out of it. I was amazed at the number of blooming trees (lots of ornamentals) and bushes that we never experienced in our time there.
To answer your flora preguntas… The tababuias usually bloom for about a month, starting sometime in March or April. Same with the Saraca, except the variety I have is supposed to put out blooms that appear right on the trunk at one time of year and then blossoms on branch-ends at another time. My Saraca needs to grow for another year or so before it blooms at all. … Currently mangos are coming into season and should be ripe in a week or so. Our jacarandas are still in full bloom from over a month ago – their blossoms are bright blue-ish purple. And this year the fire tree or Royal Poinciana (remember it from PR?) has started blooming early. Today I saw one where the blooms were so plentiful on a 40-foot tree, that no leaves were discernible—definitely a fireworks special! Last year the RPs didn’t start blooming until July, but lasted through November.

2005: Into South Glen with Bella: The canopy is almost complete now, and it feels like summer in the woods. Birds were calling throughout the walk; the most insistent were two pileated woodpeckers. I must have been too close to their nest. One called long and hard, flying over me once, leading me away another time. Finches and song sparrows also heard. Geese were honking on the river. Wood nettle was overgrowing the sweet Cicely where the red 17-year cicadas first emerged last year. Ironweed and some touch-me-nots were waist high. Silver olive shrubs were done blooming here, and many honeysuckle flowers have rusted. Sweet rockets lined the paths. The first parsnips were just starting to open. Green-bottle flies, newborns, clustered together on the leaves of a honeysuckle branch. A very young fawn found half eaten by coyotes or dogs. In the yard, the blue flags are at their best. The Korean lilac is still fragrant even though its flowers are mostly done.

2006: Most locust are complete in the countryside, petals falling here also. Along the roadsides, parsnips are in full bloom, hemlock well underway. Korean lilac has been gone several days. Lambs ear and pale violet swamp iris opened all at once. Multiflora roses are in full flower throughout. A few poppies left, many peonies. Mock orange still full, privet buds getting ready to open. First spiders noticed in their webs above the pond this morning; obviously I haven’t been paying attention!

2007: Ruby-throated hummingbird seen this morning about 9:30 at the salvia and sweet rockets. Cedar waxwings continue to feed through the day in the white mulberry tree. Japanese honeysuckle bloomed yesterday, was heavy and sweet when I walked by the hedge with Bella last night.

May 28th
The 148th Day of the Year

Wandering new meadows,
Gathering the roses of passion,
The lilies and violas of love.

Sigebert de Liege

Sunrise/set: 6:11/8:54 Day's Length: 14 hours 43 minutes
Average High/Low: 76/55 Average Temperature: 65
Record High: 98 - 1911 Record Low: 33 - 1907

Weather
Another milestone in the progress of summer: from now through the middle of September, the chances for a day in the 90s
are at least ten percent. The remaining temperature distribution
for May 28th: 80s on 40 percent of the afternoons, 70s on 15
percent, 60s on 30 percent, and 50s on five percent. The arrival
of the final high pressure system of the month increases the
likelihood for a very slight chance of frost tomorrow morning. The possibility of rain declines from yesterday's 50 percent to 35 percent, but skies are often overcast: four years in ten allow no sun to shine through.

Natural Calendar
The third and final major wave of songbird migration reaches the Lake Erie shore in the last days of May, dominated by female magnolia, Canada, and bay-breasted warblers, the American redstart, indigo buntings, the vireos and flycatchers. By the middle of June, virtually all migrations are complete, and nesting has begun in the marshes.

Daybook
1980: First multiflora roses opened under the apple tree today.

1981: First ripe strawberry. First Siberian iris opens, first multiflora rose.

1982: First dish of strawberries, first purple nightshade seen. End of the garlic mustard and bleeding heart. Hairy waterleaf still in bloom. Small orange damselflies noticed by the river. Cattail leaves waist high.

1983: Jacoby, air heavy with the smell of sweet rockets and mint. Tall buttercups, ragwort, water cress, garlic mustard, sweet Cicely are the dominant flowering plants near the swamp now. The cowslips are gone. Red-winged blackbirds sing and cackle. The swamp iris have still not bloomed (noticed full bloom June 8th). Clustered snakeroot is becoming more prominent in the woods. Two dogwoods still have flowers. Sedum old. Catchweed overgrown now by the wood nettle and touch-me-nots. Still a few white spring cress, some great angelica five feet tall, mosquitoes troublesome, a patch of waterleaf with violet flowers, a few white and blue violets, and blue phlox peek out from under the early summer foliage. Multiflora roses budding. Common cinquefoil found in bloom. Grass waist high all along the river. Golden Alexanders, and swamp parsnips full bloom. May apples are speckled with age, but some still flowering. A few wild geranium. Jack-in-the-pulpit limp and pale, some already fallen over. Up the hill towards Middle Prairie, I surprised an opossum coming around a bend; it climbed a tree and looked down at me.

1984: Lilacs gone, osage about half leafed, sweet Cicely done, winter cress gone, locusts blooming, wild cherry full, catalpas about a third leafed, Canadian thistle with reddish buds.

1985: The first day lily, the first Canadian thistle, the first Queen Anne's lace.

1986: First fireflies, and daddy longlegs mating. Neysa gets
first mosquito bite. First damselflies seen by the river. First
day lilies seen. First baby robin.

1987: Catalpas noticed with new full blooms along Grinnell Road. Love-in-the-mist and garden sundrops burst into bloom today.

1988: First loud Northern Spring Field Cricket in the yard today.

1990: Poppies late, grapes late bloom, some petals falling from the mock orange, blackberries full, purple yellow nightshade early full at Ellis pond, redbuds have their seed pods now, one cottonwood is shedding, black walnuts and locusts are in full bloom.

1991: Quail seen on a fence west of Clifton. Three half-grown groundhogs playing along Grinnell Road.

1993: John, down from New York Mills, eats the first strawberry of the season. At the Cascades, first black damselfly seen, first gold-collared blackfly, first green tiger beetles. Yellow and blue stargrass found. Blackberries in early flowering. Flurries of locust petals fall in the breeze. Yellow poplar hulls on the path. At South Glen fishing with John (three bullheads, one carp caught in an hour and a half - the first bullheads ever found in the river in all the years I've fished there). Golden Alexander and meadow parsnips common at first prairie. Spirea budding at various locations in Yellow Springs. Every blue flag open in the yard, sweet Williams now about a fifth open. Iris, daisies, peonies still full bloom. Foxglove seen in town. Evergreens with up to six inches new growth now. A strong storm after dark, locust flowers covering the back lawn. The next morning the locust season in full retreat.

1996: The days continue gray and wet and cold. Along Dayton Street, the snow-on-the-mountain has come into early full bloom now. Maybe half the blue flags are out along the north garden, and a few of the sweet Williams that survived last year's neglect have blossomed too. The pale blue hyacinths are almost gone in the south garden; beside them the spiderwort has developed large blue blossoms. This year's one poppy has just fallen apart in the rain. The daisies, buttercups, and pyrethrums are full. In the east garden, the bleeding hearts are just about gone; the azaleas have lost almost all their petals. Columbine still tall and strong, dominating the mood of late May in its small patch. Throughout the village and the Glen, the locust flowers hold on rich and fragrant. Honeysuckles and mock orange and peonies are at their height. Scorpion flies noticed in the garden several days ago. Strawberries still very green.

1998: Locust flowers all gone. The last Siberian iris. More yellow sundrops opening. Daisies full bloom. Crown vetch seen full along the freeway, must have started with the yellow sweet clover. More nodding thistles head up, some in bloom. Canadian thistles open here and there. Astilbe coming in now, pink and white.
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1999: Catalpas flowering at the end of locust time, after peonies and flags and honeysuckles.

2000: Tiger lilies open in the garden.

2001: Cottonwood or water willow cotton on the path at South Glen.

2004: First firefly seen at the park tonight.

2005: Korean lilac trimmed back. Bridal wreath spirea finished along High Street. Locust and honeysuckle flowers dwindling quickly. Wood hyacinths fading quickly but still providing color to the apple-tree garden. Lanky “buttercups” done. Some pink bleeding heart is holding on along the north wall. Weigela in front of Matteo’s is in full flower.

2007: Nine-bark that has been blooming for weeks in the alley has declined quickly in the past several days. Iris disappearing, lilies coming in. Hollyhocks budding in town. Ranunculus patch in the southeast garden is down to maybe half of its blossoms. Sweet rockets declining quickly. Black walnut fruits half an inch across.

May 29th
The 149th Day of the Year

The foolish fears of what might pass
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new mown hay,
Among the hushing of the corn
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born
Out in the fields with God.

William Wordsworth

Sunrise/set: 6:10/8:56 Day's Length: 14 hours 46 minutes
Average High/Low: 77/56 Average Temperature: 66
Record High: 94 - 1895 Record Low: 35 - 1906

Weather
Rain falls more on this date than on any other May day in my history: 70 percent of May 29ths bring precipitation. Skies are often overcast as well, with nearly half of the days bringing very little or no sun at all. Chances for 90s: ten percent, for 80s: thirty-five percent, for 70s: thirty-five percent; for 60s: fifteen percent; for 50s five percent. Lows in the 30s are possible tonight as the seventh cold front of the month moves through. In the Caribbean, hurricane season is beginning.

Natural Calendar
Cottonwood trees are in bloom, seeds floating through the countryside. Fawn births peak as the wild roses fade. Elderberry bushes and panicled dogwoods reach full bloom. Bottle grass is fresh and sweet for chewing. A few mulberries are ready to pick.
It’s pruning time, after flowering, for forsythia, quince, mock orange, and lilac. Pollen from grasses reaches its peak in the central portions of the United States, as bluegrass, orchard grass, timothy, red top and Bermuda grass all continue to flower. In the northern forests, pines, spruce, hemlock, arbor vitae, alders, and birch reach the height of their blossoming.

Daybook
1982: Catalpas flowering.

1987: First 17 year cicadas (they came out almost a week ago) begin to sing at South Glen. First chicory blooms at Wilberforce. Bird's foot trefoil full bloom.

1986: First moneywort blooms at South Glen in the middle of butterflies: a silver spotted skipper, monarch, tiger swallowtail, black swallowtail, tortoise shell, and others.

1988: Ground covered with withering honeysuckle flowers. Summer cricket song increasing. Mock orange petals starting to fall now by the rabbit cage in the back yard, poppies late bloom.

1989: Back from New Jersey to find first strawberries ripe, snowball viburnum fading, mock orange all the way open, golden Alexander, poppies, hemlock full, water cress and ragwort tall, well into early summer.

1991: First cricket heard. Poppies gone. Yarrow early full bloom, Japanese honeysuckle early full, follows the mock orange. Winter wheat turning quickly in the warm afternoons. First Canadian thistles open. Panicled dogwood full, catalpas at least half fallen. Linden seeds completely formed at Wilberforce.

1992: Swamp iris full bloom across from the Covered Bridge. At home, full bloom of the Siberian iris, peonies, mock orange, daisy, pyrethrum. Sweet rocket, geum, and ranunculus waning but strong. Sweet William has opened completely. To Chicago: Trefoil is open, a field of yellow sweet clover in bloom halfway to Fairborn. Hemlock early full, foxtail grass is out, wild cherry late bloom. Some locust in bloom, many fading. Along the freeway, large patches of orange dock, yellow rape and sweet clover. All corn about three inches from Yellow Springs to northern Illinois, wheat tall, waving, and turning pale green. At Crown Point, the locusts are in full bloom, entire wood lots of them.

1993: First bowl of strawberries for breakfast. First rose opened, yellow-pink; first achillea, pastel pink. First fleabane in the garden suddenly decays. Mornings definitely quieter. Catbirds, doves, grackles still call, but the cardinals are less obvious, and blue jays seem to be gone. May apple fruit the size of a cherry pit at North Glen. Silver olives and black walnuts noticed in bloom.

1995: New growth on the spruce trees at the park has reached two to three inches on most of the branches and darkens a little now.

1998: The tadpoles are almost all gone, and the green frog barks and bongs day and night. Privet opening and fragrant now. Japanese honeysuckles full bloom and fragrant. Common fleabane season ends, the first daisy fleabane opens.

2000: To Goshen: Full parsnips, yellow sweet clover, crown vetch, nodding thistles, blueweed, blackberries, coreopsis, Canadian thistles, daisies and hemlock. Cottonwood cotton drifting. Redwings still nesting. Corn three inches. Grasses and wheat turning. Turtle seen near St. Mary’s. Peonies in Van Wert. In Goshen: pink rhododendrons, red clover.

2002: Very first pink spirea opened in Washington Court House.
First deep purple Japanese iris bloomed in the pond. Two water lily flowers open so far.

2003: At Charleston, South Carolina, elderberries and catalpas full bloom. At Santee, wheat is dark brown, corn waist high. On the reservoir, ospreys are nesting, flying back and forth with small fish to feed their young.

2004: Yellow swallowtail and black swallowtail seen today, the first group of five cabbage moths, and a large hatching of green-bottle flies. First linden flowers open in the park.

2005: The mountain maple at Antioch School has seeds about a fourth of an inch long. In our yard, blue flags, daisies, catmint, peonies, mock orange, cressleaf groundsel, sweet rockets and swamp iris are in full bloom. Sweet Williams and spiderwort are in early bloom. Tat called this afternoon from Madison, Wisconsin, her peonies and iris only a little behind those in Yellow Springs.

2006: Several hot days in a row now have brought the spinach and lettuce to full height, have given the tomatoes a growth spurt, have pushed the rhubarb into a decline, have brought red and pink roses to the garden, ended the honeysuckle, opened a few privets, pink spireas, some white achillea, pulled a fourth of the petals from the mock orange and the peonies. Rockets are aging but still dominant in the north gardens, punctuated by sweet Williams and cressleaf groundsel. The purple rhododendron along Elm Street is magnificent; the lone surviving rhododendron at home is bravely in full bloom. At the park by the church, one yellow poplar tree is loaded with blossoms. A few red oak trees have acorns a fourth of an inch in diameter. Along Limestone Street, the linden is flowering. The cherries on the pie cherry tree on Dayton Street are almost half size. The ash tree in front of the house has all its green seeds, a little more than an inch long. Peaches on Neysa’s tree are blushing, an inch and a half long, an inch wide. One volunteer redbud transplanted today, one pansy redbud planted along the south central edge of the yard underneath the honeysuckle and the hackberry.
At about 3:30 this afternoon, we heard droning in the back yard and saw that a swarm of Italian bees was moving into the old locust along the west border. By 5:00, they had settled in for the night. Over the last several days, two small camel crickets found in the sink, the first of the new brood to explore outside their crawl space.

2007: Cedar waxwings were feeding in the white mulberry tree this morning at 8:30; then they moved on.

May 30th
The 150th Day of the Year

Each change in nature brings a parallel change to the human mind and body. Every flower places its signature on us; as the trees fill with leaves, so does our soul fill out for summer; the songs of the birds alter our rhythms; the long south winds bring the scent of fulfillment, give us new dreams.

Celtus

Sunrise/set: 6:09/8:56 Day's Length: 14 hours 45 minutes
Average High/Lo: 77/56 Average Temperature: 66
Record High: 95 - 1895 Record Low: 37 - 1947

Weather
The likelihood of rain (a full 70 percent yesterday) falls to just 35 percent today. The sun shows through the clouds 80 percent of the time instead of just 55 percent. The temperature distribution is even a little better: chances for 90s: ten percent; for 80s: thirty-five percent; for 70s: thirty-five percent; for 60s: twenty percent. Although frost does not occur frequently on this date, the seventh high pressure system of the month can drop lows into the upper 30s.

Natural Calendar
Iris and peonies are blooming at elevations near 4000 feet in southern Idaho. Aspen leaves are the size of a thumbnail, and the raspberry plants are just getting their leaves in Yellowstone.
Blackberries are in full bloom in the Northwest, and dogwood trees are open around Sequoia National Park in California at the same time that the canola and winter wheat crops are about ready to be harvested in the Midwest. In the Southwest, blackberries have set fruit, and wildflowers such as chicory, salsify, moth mullein, great mullein, and milkweed are open - marking the full bloom of the sunflower crop in southern California. North of Sacramento, the wheat is darkening - just like it is in Indiana

Daybook
1983: Yellow poplar noticed in bloom at Antioch.

1984: South Glen along the railroad tracks: Grapes, common cinquefoil, sulfur cinquefoil, red clover, first poison hemlock, angelica, ragwort, raspberries, meadow goat's beard, sweet rocket, fire pink, wild geranium, henbit, columbine, white campion, parsnips, fleabane, golden Alexanders, tall buttercups, honeysuckle, corn salad, cow parsnip, black medic, Miami mist, smooth-leafed dock, Virginia spiderwort, Solomon's plume, field parsnip, clustered snakeroot, daisies, waterleaf, sedum, tall white violets in bloom. Catchweed, garlic mustard, sweet Cicely going to seed. Last days of the winter cress, field peppergrass, purple deadnettle, and spring phlox, larkspur, Jack-in-the-pulpit, toad trillium. May apples formed. Last petals of a dogwood lying on the needle floor of the Pine Forest. Indian hemp lanky at three feet, budding. Poison ivy and blackberry bushes budding. Wild petunia and pokeweed foliage a foot tall. Coneflower foliage knee high. Yarrow and meadow rue budding. Buckeyes have half-inch burrs, yellow poplar flowers falling to the ground. Sycamore leaves only half developed. A cluster of thin black caterpillars eating nettle. Leafhoppers are out, and small box elder bugs. Two geese with three fat goslings. Four deer seen, two with foot-long antlers covered with velvet. Solar eclipse at noon, I watched it in a rain puddle.

1985: Privet in bloom.

1986: Mill Habitat: Crickets loud about five in the afternoon.
Long black cricket hunter seen on the seeding parsnips. Round seed heads of the goatsbeard are common. Fire pink full bloom. First avens of the year in bloom. First enchanter's nightshade. First moth mullein seen. First timothy has emerged from its sheath. Daisy fleabane and water willow blooming. Rockets almost gone. At Wilberforce, first chicory blossoms, and lesser stitchwort discovered open. Another baby robin seen today and a tortoise shell butterfly.

1987: Fields of red and yellow clover. First Canadian thistles flowering. Privet full bloom. Dogbane high and flowering. Catalpas are out everywhere. More chicory seen.

1988: Crickets in the yard start to chant in the early morning. Cedar waxwings feed in the locust flowers, the flower petals falling with the light breeze into the seeding grass. Squirrels seen half grown. Peonies full still, and mock orange. Still a few last garlic mustard. First tropical depression of the season begins to form 250 miles southwest of Havana.

1989: Osage is flowering today. Locust finally seen in bloom, full along Corry Street.

1990: Buttercups almost gone at home, forget-me-nots gone, sweet rockets disappearing quickly. In the country, rockets holding better. Many poppies gone, iris fading to maybe a third, with a few buds left to open.

1993: Tat calls from Chicago: heavy rain and hail there. After dark, a tornado touches down 30 miles south of Yellow Springs.

1995: July's coneflowers are a foot tall now. Phlox are almost at their summer height. Roses are just starting to open. All the purple Siberian iris are blooming, all of the daisies, the pyrethrum, maybe three fourths of the sweet Williams. The multicolored Siberian iris have just started to open. Asiatic lilies are budding. Daisy fleabane by the bird feeder is almost five feet tall.

1998: Catalpas in full bloom on Allen Street. Privets early bloom everywhere. Very last bleeding heart and mock orange. Purple coneflowers have headed up, along with the heliopsis. The water iris are just past their peak. Roses lush. Poppies continue in the south garden, but past their prime. Red pyrethrums ready to cut back, early daisies full. Green frog calling. The toads have disappeared completely. First long black cricket hunter seen by the pond. First pale chicory seen along the freeways, and birdsfoot trefoil full, some moth mullein. Great mullein heading quickly. Motherwort early in the yard.

1999: Full catalpas, locust canopy closing quickly, wheat rich gray green. Mock orange collapses and peonies melt, pond iris all disappear by the end of the day.

2001: First hurricane of the year forms off Baja California.

2002: First poppy in the yard unravels, first yellow sundrop primrose. End of rhododendron bloom along the south garden. In the woods, garlic mustard season is over.

2003: At Santee Cooper in South Carolina, early rose of Sharon is blooming at the cabin, clearly marking a four-week difference between central Carolina and Yellow Springs.

2004: The first chicory seen blooming along the freeway in Kettering. Catalpas full throughout, have been open at least a week. Only the late pink peonies hold. Japanese honeysuckles and the yellow sundrop primrose patch have been in full bloom about three or four days. Water willow was flowering in the pond today, Japanese pond iris late full, lizard’s tail completely formed, four water lilies blossoming. Two patches of small golden lilies are in full bloom. Another orange lily, a taller one came in this morning. Tufts of cottonwood cotton float by on the wind.

2005: The first poppy in the yard opened fully overnight in the cool rain. The frog is still here, calling just before the showers intensify. The parakeets Jean brought home from school yesterday started singing at 5:45 a.m. EST. Mock orange and peonies are still completely full.

2006: First yellow sundrop in the east garden unravels. The pond iris are blossoming beside it. Japanese honeysuckles are starting to flower throughout the forsythia hedge. First nodding thistle noticed open along the freeway on the way in to Dayton. Hemlock and yellow sweet clover full bloom. Sweet gum seed clusters are a third of their mature size. Kousa dogwoods hold on in the park.

2007: First bright yellow evening primrose has opened in the north garden. More orange and yellow lilies in bloom. More rose blossoms – yellow and pink. Lettuce and radishes ready for salad. Cedar waxwings still in the white mulberry for a little while. A row of old amaryllis bulbs planted in the garden, and a handful of hardy gladioli. On the way home from Dayton this evening, I saw parsnips and catalpa trees in full bloom.

May 31st
The 151st Day of the Year

One has only to sit down in the woods or fields or by the shore of the river or lake, and nearly everything of interest will come round. The change of the seasons is like the passage of strange and new countries; the zones of the earth, with all their beauties and marvels, pass one’s door.

John Burroughs

Sunrise/set: 6:09/8:57 Day's Length: 14 hours 48 minutes
Average High/Low: 77/56 Average Temperature: 66
Record High: 97 - 1895 Record Low: 36 - 1897

Weather
Chances for rain are up near 40 percent today, but the sun shines seven days out of ten, and the temperature distribution covers the range between mild to hot. Highs in the 90s come ten percent of the time, 80s forty percent, 70s and 60s twenty-five percent each.

Natural Calendar
Spring pasture now reaches its brightest green of the year, and haying moves towards the Canadian border at the rate of about one hundred miles a week, will be taking place almost everywhere in the United States by the middle of June. Spring wheat is just about all planted in the North, and all the oats are in the ground between Denver and New York. Potatoes and commercial tomatoes and pickles have all been set out along the Great Lakes. Winter wheat is turning a pale gold below the Mason-Dixon Line. Blueberries are setting fruit in the Northeast. In Southern gardens, squash bugs and Japanese beetles are out in force.

Daybook
1983: First roses on the bush under the apple tree. Some peonies past their prime. To Ellis Pond: Saw white campion, the first wild parsnips in bloom, milkweed three feet high, arrowhead beginning to emerge from the water, old but strong water and winter cress, full bloom of the sweet rockets, tall locust trees flowering, some Canadian thistles budding, blackbirds singing and swooping, swallows sailing up and down the stream bed looking for food.

1986: White yarrow along the freeway, some nodding thistles full bloom, a few catalpa flowers seen. First cherry in the yard half red.

1987: First nodding thistle blooms, moth mullein with several flowers open, yuccas sending up their stalks. Elderberries are completely open, locusts almost gone. Very last bleeding heart disappears today. South Glen, late evening: Carp swimming lazily in the river do not take my bait, even in the quiet pools. Fireflies more numerous: four days ago, only an occasional blinking across the yard. Now, maybe ten or fifteen different lights counted in the space of a minute.

1990: The wheat has turned pale green now, the heads, emerged, are paler than the stalks and leaves. First day lily seen along Grinnell today. At the freeway, yellow sweet clover and hemlock are in full bloom. Now the field grasses wave like the wheat, tall and also turning, but darker. No fireflies tonight. One or two bleeding hearts left

1991: First chicory, first tiger lily, first cherries turning. First broccoli bolts in the heat wave. Locusts completely gone.

1993: Iris beginning to decline now, honeysuckle petals falling heavily to the sidewalk with the locust petals. Cherries half size. Peonies hold in the cool.

1994: Tall yellow cressleaf groundsel still in full bloom throughout the pastures. Water iris open in the swamp across from the Covered Bridge.

1997: North 100 miles or so to Canton: We drove back almost a week in time, from the full bloom of blackberries up into last week’s azalea bloom. Dogwoods were out in Zoar, but had fallen days ago in Yellow Springs. Although the canopy is almost full here at home, it is definitely thinner and brighter there. Honeysuckle flowers starting to weather here, full there. Spitbugs found on the thistles at a rest stop.

1998: A large formation of geese flew north across town this morning at 7:00. Morning birdsong still loud these days. First orange tiger lily opened in the north garden. Mulberries, black and white are falling to the street, the same time that osage orange blossoms fall along the west border of the yard. Pink and white astilbe suddenly early full. Yucca stalks are up to my chin and full of buds.

1999: The first mulberries were ripe in the alley west of High Street yesterday. Privet bushes are in full bloom along our north hedge and all over town. Catalpas also full, some brand new flowers already falling. Camel cricket seen in the house at 4:30 a.m.

2000: First sundrop primrose opened against the south wall today. Motherwort noticed blooming, probably started a few days ago. Roses full early bloom. White rhododendrons stay. Catalpas early bloom throughout town.

2001: First tiger lily opening in the yard. Moneywort open at the Mill.

2002: The basic sequence (EST): 4:17 a.m. full chorus of robins, 4:40 a.m. first titmouse, 4:46 a.m. first doves, 4:48 a.m. first cardinals, 5:00 squirrels active, robins mating, 5:10 a.m. blackbirds, 5:14 a.m., first crows, 5:15 a.m. first carpenter bee out of the woodwork.

2004: Wild multiflora roses have disappeared. Tiger lilies seen by the side of the road on the way to Fairborn. Dark mulberries falling to the sidewalk along Dayton Street. Small camel cricket found in a coffee cup in our cupboard. Cressleaf groundsel is going to seed, but still provides color to the garden. Some Canadian thistles going to seed along the highway. First achillea flowering. Peach-leafed bellflower late. Sparrows and cardinals still building nests in the back yard. Peaches are the size of large acorns. Allium seed heads fully formed. Sweet rockets almost completely gone, cut back.

2006: The alley has changed so much since spring. Of course there would be changes. Why do I expect it to provide more stability than the garden? Why do I miss the flock of winter starlings in the black walnut tree at the corner? The lilacs, the magnolias and bridal wreath spirea are gone. The bed of aconites has disappeared, leaves yellowing a month ago. The alley was a private passageway, common to all, but mine at those few minutes every morning when I walked through it. Did I confuse privacy with constancy? Or is it something else like the quietness of the houses, the cutting down of the great euonymus vine, the neglect of Mateo’s property, the solitude of certain neighbors, the dying maple in Lil’s old back yard that produces a mild melancholy that I confuse with the end of spring and other closures, the vague emotions mixing and blending?
In the back yard, the Dutch iris and the violet standard iris are almost gone, the mock orange is losing all its petals, the Osage flowers fall, the sweet rockets decay quickly. Mateo’s weigela is down to about a third of its petals.

2007: The first two Japanese iris bloomed dark purple in the pond today, and the pale violet pond iris continue late full (and one in the redbud garden as well). White clovers have recovered from the mowing after dandelion bloom, fill the lawn again. Cressleaf groundsel has been going to seed this past week. Daisy fleabane flowered yesterday near the variegated Japanese knotweed. Ranunculus has dwindled to maybe a tenth of its most extravagant bloom. More yellow coneflowers have sprouted and developed over the past week, so slow to form. The transplanted stella d’oros have buds. Other ever-blooming lilies have been out quite a while now in the area. This evening about 7:30, a hummingbird visited the feeder near the pond.