A May day / night dilemma #phenology

The Twin Cities National Weather Service has issued a frost advisory for much of Minnesota. For our county it runs from 1 AM to 8 AM tomorrow. They report the current temperature as 36℉. The weather app on my smartphone(?) forecasts overnight temperatures not dropping below 34℉. Of course, that same app informs us it's currently snowing when a glance out the window reveals rain sprinkles (that turned into snow flakes as we wrote this). So, the dilemma is: do we attempt to protect a bunch of newly planted flowers from a potentially non-existent frost by covering them and, if so, what to use for a cover.

rarely do May thunderstorms bring snow

Photo by J. Harrington

Other years when we've had mid- to late-May frost advisories, they've mostly occurred when we had clear, calm nights. With rain and / or snow in the forecast for the afternoon and evening, the bed sheets we've used in the past for frost protection are likely to get soaked through and, come morning, possibly turned into sheets of ice. We have some tarps sitting around the garage we could try, but they're likely to be too heavy to lay on the new plantlings and may crush them. Plus, they might not stay put if wind gusts do indeed reach 30 mph tonight. Local trillium have just come into bloom. What will they look like tomorrow?

are trillium frost proof?

Photo by J. Harrington

Frosted or crushed is sort of a plant's equivalent of "which eye do you want the sharp stick in?," also know as a Hobson's choice. An alternative would be to ignore the advisory, cross our fingers and hope that Mother Nature shows some pity. Then again, since we're now watching snow flakes, maybe the smartphone(?) should be listened to. Spring in the North Country isn't just a challenge. It's a mixed bag of challenges that makes life interesting, unless you're a plant or an orphan fledgling. The goslings we saw earlier today will no doubt be hunkered under mom to stay warm and dry tonight. In case you're interested, the "normal" high and low for today are 70℉ and 50℉. Tomorrow's normal low is the same and the normal high is 71℉. If you'll pardon a short posting today, I think I'll go dust off the snow shovel, just in case. All in all, we'd prefer a seasonal thunderstorm rather than a late season snow and frost attack.

Misreading Housman

By Linda Pastan

On this first day of spring, snow

covers the fruit trees, mingling improbably   

with the new blossoms like identical twins   

brought up in different hemispheres.   

It is not what Housman meant

when he wrote of the cherry

hung with snow, though he also knew   

how death can mistake the seasons,   

and if he made it all sound pretty,   

that was our misreading

in those high school classrooms

where, drunk on boredom, we had to recite   

his poems. Now the weather is always looming

in the background, trying to become more   

than merely scenery, and though today   

it is telling us something

we don't want to hear, it is all

so unpredictable, so out of control

that we might as well be children again,   

hearing the voices of thunder

like baritone uncles shouting

in the next room as we try to sleep,   

or hearing the silence of snow falling   

soft as a coverlet, even in springtime   

whispering: relax, there is nothing   

you can possibly do about any of this.

********************************************
Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.

Where are Turtle Island's turtles this May? #phenology?

our township probably needs more signs like this

Photo by J. Harrington

To many Native Americans and First Nations people North America is known as Turtle Island. We live in an area, once inhabited by the Dakota and the Anishinaabe, that has many wetlands and water bodies. Many years during May we see, at various times, a number of turtles crossing local roads as they go to lay their eggs. This year we've seen none.

Blanding's turtle crossing our formerly gravel road

Photo by J. Harrington

In part, we're wondering if some part of the turtles' life cycle is occurring later this month, along with many other Spring events. Or, is the lack of sightings due, in part, to our recently blacktopped township road?

snapping turtle crossing a paved road

Photo by J. Harrington

Blanding's turtles, which we've seen nearby a number of times in years past, typically nests in June, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. A similar pattern is followed by snapping turtles. Blanding's, snapping and painted are the three turtle species we've seen crossing roads, but there are many more species native to Minnesota.

painted turtle crossing our formerly gravel road

Photo by J. Harrington

Turtle Island is also the title of Gary Snyder's Pulitzer Prize-winning book of poems but, as far as we can recall, there's no poem in it mentioning a turtle. Snyder's homage to Turtle Island in a poem comes in a different volume (Axe Handles) with the poem:

For All

Gary Snyder

Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn
fording a stream
barefoot, pants rolled up,
holding boots, pack on,
sunshine, ice in the shallows,
northern rockies.

Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters
stones turn underfoot, small and hard as toes
cold nose dripping
singing inside
creek music, heart music,
smell of sun on gravel.

I pledge allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
one ecosystem
in diversity
under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.

********************************************
Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.