April 1st

"Pussywillows" Salix discolor - some have already turned green, while these were still white today.

April 2nd

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) is blooming, one of our earliest wildflowers. The common name comes from the shape of the leaf, the Genus name from the throat-remedy properties. Dried leaves can be steeped for a tea. An extract for curing coughs can be made from boiling fresh leaves (to which sugar may be added to make hard candy - 2 cups sugar to 1 cup extract boiled until the syrup makes a hard ball when dropped in cold water).

April 8th

A fresh Raccoon scat, very typical in its smoothness. Different animals digest food differently, and the resulting scats are distinctive in shape and consistency. Raccoon scat is not always black, but may be many different colors, from sandy to brown to reddish, etc.

April 16th

Dutchman's Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria. These have been blooming for several days now, and some have gone by. Bee species with short proboscises cannot reach the nectar and will bite a hole through the flower to get at the nectar. Look carefully and you may find this subtle animal sign.

April 17th

Purple Trillium or Red Trillium or Stinking Benjamin or Wakerobin or Squawroot, Trillium erectum. These have just started opening. The beautiful flowers have a disagreeable odor which attracts carrion flies for pollination.

April 18th

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. These are almost at their peak in our area. This flower, which resembles Twinleaf, Jeffersonia diphylla, opens in full sunlight and closes at night. Native American Indians used the orange-red sap from the rhizome (underground stem) as a dye for war paint, as a decoration for clothing and baskets, and also as an insect repellent.

April 19th

Skunkcabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus. The leaves are now unfolding and the Spathe(hooded floral leaf which enfolds the rounded Spadix bearing flowers) is becoming less obvious.

April 20th

Sugar Maple flower buds are swelling more each day.

April 29th

Canada Mayflower leaves are starting to uncurl on the shade-dappled forest floor.

Skunk Cabbage (right) and False Hellebore (left) share the same habitat. They both grow in swamps, wet woods and wet meadows and are often confused. False Hellebore will grow from 2 to 5 feet high and will wither away before mid-summer. It is poisonous and the leaves have a burning taste that is is avoided by animals. Legend has it that in some tribes an Indian had to eat it and survive in order to become a chief.

April 30th

Birding Through The Spring with John Green - an early morning birding program with John Green. We started the day with the incredible sight of watching a Blue Gray Gnatcatcher building its tiny camouflaged nest, flitting back and forth to a Sugar Maple tree to gather tiny pieces of lichen and moss. We ended the day with the very rare and special treat of watching a Raven's nest on a cliff above a roiling and rushing river, with the beak of a young nesting occasionally poking up into view.

May 1st

The male "flowers"(not flowers in the true sense of the word, but a much simpler stucture producing pollen) of Norway Spruce. In a few days these will be releasing clouds of yellowish pollen.

May 3rd

Celandine, Chelidonium majus, Poppy Family. The bright yellow sap resembles bile and was at one time used to treat liver problems and to remove warts. The plant is possibly poisonous to chickens.

May 5th

Near-80 degree temperatures today have brought the Celandine to bloom.

Today is the first day for strawberries to bloom this year. If conditions are right during the growing season, the wild native Common Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana, will produce tiny, intensely flavorful berries in late spring or early summer.

The tiny flowers of Northern White Violet, Viola pallens. Flowers and leaves of most violets are edible, making a nice addition to a salad. Leaves are best when young and tender.