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 11, 2006 We’re home from family visits to Washington, DC and Florida. Our drive through PA at the end of April was very scenic with the tapestry of spring color beginning to fill the hills. DC was already in full leaf with its famed azaleas in peak bloom. A special exhibit of Cezanne paintings at the National Gallery of Art provided an additional visual feast. Florida of course was its usual tropical garden with low humidity at first but steamy summer soon setting in. Driving home 12 days later showed that spring had progressed north, to much fuller trees and magnificent blooming of shads, choke cherries, lilacs and dogwoods. Even Vermont had its burst of spring greens, yellows and reds. Here on Walden Hill, the new leaves are spreading, tamarack needles are nearly full and shad blossoms are just opening. Swallows are nesting in two of the bird houses. I’m not sure whether or not the black flies have arrived but we’ll soon find out. Temperature readings while we were away showed a low of 27° and a high of 76°. As we were driving home up I-91 in the early evening, the mostly overcast sky began to partially clear, casting a golden glow on the valley and distant mountains. It was a glorious welcome home.

May 12, 2006 It’s finally starting to rain. We added fertilizer to the garden yesterday and are happy to have the rain today to percolate the “moo doo” into the freshly turned soil. Dandelions are popping up in the rapidly growing, very green grass. We even have a few asparagus spears which I’ll pick tomorrow. Hosta are up, lining the stairs and lupine leaves are in various growth stages. Shad blossoms continue to open, leaving suspended white flakes swaying in the wind. Marsh marigolds have spread a carpet of gold in the wetlands. Spring peepers are increasing in volume on warmer nights but are less enthusiastic when the temperature drops. A lone deer greeted us on the road as we turned into the driveway last night. I did some indoor gardening today, transplanting tomatoes and kohlrabi into larger pots. I also thinned the basil and will add them as garnish on tonight’s salad. Our very first garden morsels of the season.

May 15, 2006 We got our first load of wood delivered today and will try and stack it tomorrow, weather permitting. It’s been raining on and off since Friday with only brief periods of sun shining through small holes in the clouds. I did manage to weed and fertilize the asparagus bed and pick some spears to add to our tortellini soup. It also stayed dry long enough for a first pass with the mower on the front and side lawn. Brisk winds helped dry out the grass a bit and keep the black flies in motion. My “bug baffler” shirt has already been put to good use. The mini-pond is filled up again and has a few resident frogs. Swallows continue with their nest building. A couple of small sparrows with very striking rusty crowns were also gathering bits of dry grass for nests. The one plus in all this stormy weather is watching the magnificent, looming, dark clouds that race across the sky. The sun sweeps across the spring colored valley like a stage light, highlighting the dramatic scene.

May 17, 2006 A cool, overcast day. Perfect weather for stacking wood. We put a respectable dent in the three loads that were delivered on Monday and Tuesday. Glendon will hold off on the final load until most of what’s here is stacked. Our thermometer shows 45° and fortunately that’s cool enough to keep the black flies away. The pile has gotten a good soaking which not only makes the wood heavier but very slippery, especially when the gloves get saturated. Although it would have been nice to see the sun, we were happy to have that cloud cover to keep things cool. We’re getting into our summer aerobic mode and it feels great. My substantial layer of winter insulation needs to be brought down to a more comfortable size. Meanwhile we continue to run the woodstove occasionally while Vermont cautiously moves towards spring.

May 20, 2006 After eight straight days of rain, including our first electrical storm of the season, we’ve had a brief window of precip-free weather to finish stacking our 2 cords of wood and continue mowing in the back of the house. There’s one hilly, wetter area that still needs a first pass with the mower and then it’ll be time to start at the beginning again. It’s that time of year that the grass never stops growing, especially with all the rain we’ve had. Hopefully I can get some seeds in the garden soon and put the solarium plants outside to harden up a bit. Meanwhile I’ve hung the hummingbird feeder and had a taker within 10 minutes. What a treat to have those tiny, highly energized birds hover at close range. Shads are beginning to drop their snowy white petals after 10 days of glorious blooming. A hint of pink on the apple tree shows that it will soon take center stage among the flowering trees.

May 22, 2006 Eleven straight days of rain and counting. It was a nippy 36° this morning as well. I’ve picked the few asparagus that were brave enough to venture forth above ground but the rest are waiting for the sun to warm up the soil again. The remainder of the vegetable garden is still bare. I don’t even dare put out the seedlings, what with high winds, driving rain and predictions of hail and frost. This May waiting game is beginning to wear a bit thin. Even the maple leaves are in a holding pattern between first bud and full leaf. Took a brisk, drizzly walk up the road this afternoon. Giant blood trillium are in bloom along with the more delicate white, painted ones. Marsh marigolds continue to spread a yellow carpet in the well-watered swamps. Hobblebush blossoms present a white platter suspended throughout the woods and twin flowers are in bloom as well. Fiddleheads of all shapes, textures and shades of green are up and unfurling. Spring is trying to prevail. At first we had no winter and now we can’t seem to get rid of it.

May 25, 2006 Hooray, I’ve finally planted my snowpeas and set out the tomato and kohlrabi plants in the cold frame. The thermometer shows that we had a low of 36° last night but hopefully we’ll start seeing overnight temps more solidly in the 40’s and 50’s. Although this is by far the latest that I’ve put in my first seeds, I’m only 5 days behind last year. This May is now the wettest on record. Having accomplished that great feat, mother nature decided to take a day off. Yesterday was mostly cloudy but at least it stayed dry. This morning is starting out overcast as well but for now, the White Mountains have reappeared and a summer-like, mist-filled CT River Valley view greets the day.

May 27, 2006 Memorial Day weekend is kicking off with yard sales everywhere. Just going into recycling this morning we passed 3 yard sales and a car wash. The kids doing the car wash saw our dusty, dirt road car and started to frantically wave us in. There is a low cloud ceiling today with the muted honking of unseen geese filling the air. Apple blossoms have beautifully burst forth with their sweet fragrance hanging in the moist air. Saw my first swallowtail butterfly today so lilac blossoms should be opening soon too. I’ve rehung the seed feeder in hopes that the bears are no longer in need of bird seed. A beautiful, fully plumed goldfinch was startlingly rich in contrast to the black oil sunflower seeds in the feeder behind him. He also created quite a burst of color in the profuse pink blossoms of our young apple tree. Several of the wild apple trees springing up in the field are sending forth blossoms for the first time too.

May 31, 2006 The wettest May on record is ending with more rain. Fortunately this is a classic summer thunder storm, not the chilling rain we were plagued with through most of the month. At least, though we made it through another May without snow. Kohlrabi is planted, snowpeas are just poking through the ground, 3 of the tomato plants are in the garden, protected by their “wall of water” and lettuce, spinach and cilantro seeds are in the ground. A plentiful supply of basil is in the cold frame. Full moon is June 11th, so that’s the date to let pass before planting frost sensitive plants. Dahlia bulbs are in the ground but it will be a while until their susceptible green leaves appear. We’ve been doing major weeding and edging around the perennial beds, despite the voracious black flies. Lilacs and apple blossoms are in full fragrant bloom. Our rain barrel is out collecting water as is the bird bath and the swing is hung. Our woodstove has been cleaned out and the hearth put into summer mode. Winter is definitely behind us.