BACK IN MAINE, TRA LA!
The move to Maine is almost complete! Here you see chairs being set out on the Connecticut lawn to place in the moving van. You may also see andirons, and the old well where I pile stones and bones. In fact, some of those bones are the ones that the squirrel was helping himself to. You can see that the dogwood is in bloom, and the daffodils almost over. That pebbled path is where I found the Gray Tree Frog while edging. I will miss the beautiful dogwood which grows naturally in Connecticut. I wish I could transplant it! Even the insects love it! We have several lilac clumps that had their purple buds set to bloom. Those are tall Sugar Maples lining the back of our property.

I didn't have much time to get into the woods for hiking and exploring, but here in the yard that has been ours for years, I have Bloodroot, Dutchmen's Britches and Virginia Bluebells that I have transplanted. The ferns are unrolling and the May Apple and Jack in the Pulpits are waiting in the wings. We even had a couple of dishes of asparagus cut from the garden we have enjoyed for many years.

I've only been back in Maine a few days, but I did see where the Coltsfoot has nearly climaxed. This yellow, early blooming flower can be mistaken for a Dandelion, however, its leaves unfold after the blooming takes place. Those leaves are shaped like a colt's foot, and that is where it gets its name. Right now, the scaly stalks are leafless. The flowers also produce a fuzzy seed head which may show their affinity to Dandelions. See them below with the bended stalks.

I discovered something that at first puzzled me. I wonder if you can detect what it is from this picture. I found it in a back room we use as a shop here in Maine. I placed it on a white rock in the sun. That gray outline on the right is a shadow. How many of you can tell me what it is? I may have a prize for a correct first identification!

There has been a lot of rain here in this neck of the Maine woods. I bet a lot of campsites are swamped. There was even a sign warning of flooded roads on 209 when I want over to West Point. Our grass has been mowed for the first time, and my peas are just starting to push through the wet ground.

Tomorrow I am going on a Vernal Pool walk with kids from the Phippsburg School. I'll leave some room to report on what we find. This outing produced some interesting findings at a bog like setting off Parker Head Road. The fifth graders set out with nets and managed to dip out Wood Frog tadpoles, Green Frogs, a Gray Tree Frog, Mosquito larvae, and salamander eggs. A Garter Snake was flushed, and a Green Snake was temporarily captured. Trailing Arbutus, Trout Lilies and Bluets were blooming. As we were leaving, Black Flies......the first of the season...made a biting appearance. The mosquitoes are waiting in the wings.

5/7/08 Rejuvenated Ronnie.