OUR RATHER COLD WEATHER PERSISTING well into mid-May. This is probably a good thing, as this has been a "stay at home" spring with the COVID-19 pandemic in the air.
Those warm sunshiny days that tease you, announcing that summer is just around the corner, have been missing. My maples in my yard are usually full of bright green leaves by this date, the skeletal branches remain with tight red buds, in no hurry to express themselves. Can you hardly blame them?
We have had freeze warnings over the weekend. That news brought my recently potted summer annuals and rooting dahlias back inside from the porch for a few days. The cherry farmers interviewed in the local news expressed relief that their orchards were at least two weeks behind, hopefully, protecting them from future fruit losses.
I still dress in a stocking hat and woolen gloves and wear a thick winter jacket for my morning walk looking more like a local each year. Clearly, my person demonstrates no interest in outfitting in the latest in warm weather fashion. My outward appearance expresses sound caution and knowledge of northern Michigan’s long winter grip.
The morel mushroom that draws so many souls into the woods in late April, and early May, hasn’t experienced a nighttime temperature above 50 F in the last 30 days – warmer nights and rain are the key factor in kicking off the fungi’s rapid growth. Their spores are hiding below the surface waiting for Mother Nature to send some warmth so they will fruit.
Time to get things rolling, my dear.
Happy Mother’s Day.
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