Is it any wonder that the beginning of May has always held a great deal of significance. It is amazing what a difference a day can make. I think this year it is especially obvious because we have been having abnormally cold temperatures recently. Just a few nights ago we had a very hard freeze and there was ice on my pond. Spring has been slow, the grass not growing. But last night, just in time, came the warm, May rains and with it, Spring has sprung. The difference between the woods yesterday and the woods this afternoon is blatant and palpable. The salamanders especially, have ushered in the full force of Spring. That big Spotted fellow on my door step last night was just the beginning. Today, I found more than a dozen of these little Red Efts out in the woods....
I love these little guys, they are just so cute. They never get much bigger then this....
They have interesting life cycles. They are born in water and spend their first year there. Then they crawl out of the ponds and become land creatures. During this phase of their life cycle, they spend several years crawling around on the forest floor, eating microscopic bugs, hiding under the leaf mold...
And having important discussions...
And perhaps dreaming about the days when they will shed their bright colors and once again return to their aquatic beginnings to lay eggs and live out their days...
The woods are alive with new growth, these little flowers and many others are all over suddenly. There wasn't one to be found yesterday....
The Trout Lillys are coming up...
The ferns are unfurling...
And the May Apple has popped up...
I told Emma this afternoon, that it would be a good time to have a baby. It's warm, it's nice, the grass is growing, it's Spring! She was busy working on her version of a garden and didn't want to hear about any baby nonsense.
Wonderful photos. How neat is that orange lizard? He gets the best of both worlds. I have never seen the May Apple plant. It looks like a little fairy land in those photos. I hope Emma didn't wipe her nose on you : )
ReplyDeleteI like that little orange lizard! Very cute. ALso what is the "May Apple?" Is it just a one leaf plant? It really is amazing what a day can make in the spring time.
ReplyDeleteMay Apple is a plant native to the area. They do have seperate leaves, but they are often joined together on their edges so that they look like umbrellas. They get a small, round fruit under the leaves which is edible (if you like things that taste like very unripe and bitter crabapple). The flavor is like an apple, but you'd have to be pretty desperate to choke them down raw.
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