May in Vermont

Below are excerpts from Ellen’s journal. She has kept her Walden Hill Journal going since we moved from Illinois. We hope you enjoy reading them for a vicarious experience of Vermont.

May 1, 2005 Those April showers may bring May flowers in some parts of VT but here on Walden Hill they’re only continuing to bring May showers. It’s been rain, rain and more rain. The only flowers up here are a few hardy pulmonaria and just a couple of tiny yellow violets in the woods. The buds on the lilacs and shadbush look ready to burst but need to hold back until warmer weather is here to stay. Our pair of bluebirds have abandoned their nest building for now but hopefully will return once the sun warms things up a bit. Swallows seem a little more persistent. I took advantage of some 4:00 sunshine for a walk along Kittredge Road. The sound of gushing, cascading streams and drilling woodpeckers signal that spring is on its way. Two woodpeckers, probably hairys judging from their size, were drilling out territorial messages on a neighbor’s antenna and mail box which made quite an impressive sound. Bloodroot and trillium blossoms are present but curled up tight, awaiting the sun’s “kiss” before waking from their winter sleep.

May 3, 2005 Had a brief window of sunshine yesterday to add 6 bags of Moo Doo to the garden before more rain came to help percolate that manure into the soil. Today it’s colder and adding some hail to the mix. Meanwhile I’m tending my indoor solarium garden of tentative husk cherries and small but flourishing basil and kohlrabi sprouts. I’ve even begun transplanting some kohlrabi into “bigger” yogurt pots. The sun is appearing between hail storms to try and warm up the window panes. After all, the solarium needs sunshine to be an effective greenhouse.

May 7, 2005 A cloudy sunrise for Green-up Day. The sun comes up by the poplars in its continuing journey northward. A melodious song sparrow greets the day. We got an early start to Green-up yesterday, picking up miscellaneous trash around our woods and up to Foxes line across from the swamp. We were rewarded with one trout lily in bloom. Tamaracks are filling out with spring green needles but not much else is in leaf yet. The neighbors have planted a few cultivated blueberry bushes near the wild ones to see what might happen with cross pollination. We walked their mowed perimeter and found a lot more wild bushes than we had discovered last year. We’ll have to be sure to keep the field somewhat cleared to encourage their growth. We seem to have a plethora of indoor lady bugs this spring. When I open the window quilts it seems to rain lady bugs and Tobey the cat, who rushes to her morning window perch, becomes sprinkled with beetles.

May 9, 2005 Cold, clammy weekend. We’re still making good use of the wood stove. Green-up started out with cool but comfortable working weather but by the time lunch on the green rolled around, it was windy and downright nasty. People chowed down more quickly than usual and were sociable as always but didn’t linger long before heading back indoors. We along with the 3 D’s (Dawn, Donna & Dan) filled seven large green-up bags and a large box of recyclables. We had a few contributions of our own for the dump including our dead laser printer which will be transported to Middlebury to be used for parts or refurbished and brought back to life.

May 17, 2005 We’re back from FL after a week of 80’s with low humidity, a rare treat from Florida in May. We went to visit with mom as she settles into her new retirement apartment. All is going as well as can be expected. We’ve returned to the beginning of spring. What was a brown field a week ago is now fully green. Poplars are sporting their early yellow-green clumps of buds and leaves and tamaracks are filling out their bare winter branches with soft green needles. Shads have their rust red and green small leaves but the flowers have yet to open. On the western side of the Green Mountains, Vermont’s other foliage season is in full bloom. It’s what Sigurd Olson calls “warming-up colors in getting ready for spring”. Shad and apple blossoms adorn the interstate with crabapples, forsythia and azalea flowers beautifying Burlington. Jeff’s favorite wildflower, the dandelion, is just beginning to dot the lush green fields. Early plowing and planting of corn is underway in Plainfield.

May 19, 2005 Cool and mostly overcast today. Took advantage of more cool weather to stack our 3rd load of wood. The 4th arrived this evening along with the blackflies. I planted snowpeas, chard, lettuce and spinach seeds today and also gave the asparagus bed a good weeding, especially to remove the dandelions while the new roots are still small and the ground pliable. I noticed that some asparagus shoots are poking through so I gave the bed a little moo doo to encourage its growth. Marsh marigolds are in full bloom and the first of the shad flowers have opened. Our neighbors reported seeing their first hummingbirds so I’ve put up nectar and will fill the feeders tomorrow. They also reported a large bull moose hanging out near the road to their sawmill. We’ve been invited to walk the road and take a look. It’s been a magnificent sky day with all sorts of clouds adorning the sky. Sheets of rain and the hint of a rainbow were visible far to the east. Sunset has been lingering and is now leaving a residual rosy glow. The hills of budding maples are bathed in pink and a 3/4 waxing moon hangs high in the sky.

May 24, 2005 Cold rainy weather continues, more like early April than late May. A tiny patch of sunshine briefly warms the valley but will soon disappear behind the rapidly moving thick layer of clouds. Maple leaves continue to hold back, remaining in their early budding stage. Poplars and tamaracks are the only trees sprouting a fullness of new growth. The profusely blooming shads alone confirm that spring is here and what a glorious confirmation they are. Delicate white blossoms nestled in rusty red and green leaves on heavily laden gracefully sculpted thin branches, make a beautiful arching entrance to our home. Trees are fully leafed out in MA and lilacs and crabapples are in bloom but here in northern VT, spring is on hold. Even the grass which had an initial mowing a few days ago is quiet after an earlier growth spurt. Peepers give off a relatively tame chorus in the cold, clammy nights.

May 26, 2005 We’re seeing a substantial patch of blue and some actual sunshine this morning. It’s a welcome respite between the coastal storms moving out to sea and rain over the Great Lakes moving in from the west. Hobblebush is in bloom and our shads continue to hold their blossoms despite the wind. Each year they seem fuller and more elegantly adorned. I put out the hummingbird feeder two days ago and within the hour, a hummer had arrived. They are making frequent appearances, using the nectar to substitute for the flowers that should be in bloom but haven’t opened yet. We actually picked our first asparagus and will add them to a pasta verdura tonight. Watched an unusual twilight effect a few nights ago. At 8:30, a thin band of cool blue shown at the horizon in an otherwise gray sky, softened with hints of rose and pink from the glow of a hidden sunset. Unseasonably cool weather continues. There’s 5 inches of snow reported atop Mt. Washington and Lake Champlain waters are a mere 40 degrees. That’s the coldest water reading for this time of year in recorded history.

May 31, 2005 May is ending the way it started with “rain, rain and more rain”. It’s been two weeks of cool, cloudy and moist weather. At least we were spared a May snowfall. The only white drifting down has been the delicate floating petals from the shadbush. After a glorious, lingering, profusely blooming week of shad blossoms, the trees have shed their white speckles and revealed lush branches of rust green leaves. The cooler temps forced the blossoms to be cautious about opening and consequently they bloomed longer than usual. We’ve managed to continue mowing and planting in between rains. Kohlrabi are in and covered along with the shoots of snowpeas and chard poking through the ground. Tomatoes are in, protected by their “wall-of-water”. Hopefully we won’t have a frost to test their effectiveness. Despite cooler days, the nights have lingered in the 40’s. Dahlia bulbs are planted too and we hope to start a new bed for our Yankee Doodle deep purple lilac bush once the present rain passes. Mr. Bluebird was back for another look at one of the bird houses. We’ll see what he finally decides. Meanwhile, the graceful swallows are keeping us well entertained.