Early June phenology.

Soon, if not already, there could be bluebird fledglings in the bluebird house in the back yard. That’s the presumption because, over the past month or so, adult bluebirds have been seen perching on and entering and leaving the house. Several years ago, we had this same house mounted on a 2” X 4” and a bear smashed the house down. We don’t know if the occupants escaped, but we hope so. We repaired the house and the next year mounted it on a 4” X 4”. So far, so good.

Meanwhile, out in the local woods, whitetail does have birthed or are birthing fawns. We’ll watch for some of them to show up behind the house sometime next month.

columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Photo by J. Harrington

Dame’s rocket, columbine, and hoary puccoon are in bloom. Day lilies, not yet. Several patches of wild strawberries are in flower. And lilac scent is pervasive. With luck, we’ll get some rain from the showers forecast for tonight. It’s pretty dry around here by now. The “wet spot” in our back yard is just barely damp these days. Although the cumulative precipitation is above average, much of it fell before mid-May and we’ve enjoyed warmer, drier weather since then.

Several species of dragonflies have been observed, as well as swallowtail and monarch butterflies and too many mosquitoes to count. As with so much these days, could be better, could be worse. The day after tomorrow the Ojibwe Strawberry and Lakota Good Berries moon will be full. By then we’ll be up to 15 hours and 25 minutes of daylight. It remains to be seen if the clouds will part enough for us to enjoy the moon. Meanwhile, we’ll keep watching for one of the local frogs to show up in the bird bath. It’s the time of year when they start to do that.

What Is June Anyway?

By David Budbill

After three weeks of hot weather and drought,

           we've had a week of cold and rain,

just the way it ought to be here in the north,

            in June, a fire going in the woodstove

all day long, so you can go outside in the cold

            and rain anytime and smell

the wood smoke in the air.

 

This is the way I love it. This is why

           I came here almost

fifty years ago. What is June anyway

          without cold and rain

and a fire going in the stove all day?

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