At the end of April, I was so excited about the arrival of spring. The flora was returning and the weather was warm. A month later, the forest is a rich mass of green. Oddly enough, in winter, the forest is spacious and full of light, yet there is an absence of life. Now, it is dark and closed, but full of the vitality. Click on the image for a different view.
Tag Archives: Nature
A Changing World
This is not some strange specimen under a microscope, but a composite image of two satellite photographs from the NASA Earth Observatory web site showing the high and low water level in Lake Mead in 1984 (high) and 2016 (low). What you are seeing is the difference between those two images—black means there was no change. The bright fringe around the lake is how far the water has receded. It also shows the development of Las Vegas to the west of the lake. The dark center of the city is where it was already developed in 1984. Most of this water loss and development has happened since 2000. Here are the original images: Continue reading
Water and Rock
The Swift River in the White Mountain National Forest. Click on the image for a larger view.
Memorial Day Weekend
Naomi and I went to the White Mountain National Forest on Saturday. The weather was hot and humid—unusual for this time of year, especially since the temperatures reached 93°F. This is also one of the busiest weekends to travel to this park. While it would have been nice to be at the cool summit of Mt. Washington, we had no desire to jostle with the crowds. We had lunch at the bottom of the auto road and simply enjoyed the view. Click on the image for a larger view.
Peach in Bloom
May is such a dynamic time of year. Flowers seems to be taking over the whole world. We planted two Red Haven peach tress. Those too are in bloom. They are young trees and we have harvested only a few fruit in the previous years. Perhaps this year we will get more. Click on the image for a larger view.
Apples in Bloom
Our apple trees are in bloom. We have several varieties, but the blossoms are surprisingly similar—the foliage has greater variety. These particular blossoms are on a tree we call Midori-chan. Click on the image for a larger view.
The First Foliage
The emergence of the spring foliage always takes me by surprise. Not only in how fast it happens—it seems like last week the trees were just beginning to bud—but also in the intensity of color. This evening’s sun seemed to make the forest glow in a burning green-yellow flame.
The other thing that caught my attention this evening was was the scent of new plants. While the air in winter is fresh and clean, it is rather sanitized. You seem to forget the world has a fragrance. And when I passed our lilac trees, the sweetness of the air was almost unreal. It is really nice to see spring taking hold. Click on the image for a larger view.
Sabattus Pond
Click on the image for a larger view.
Plum in Bloom
Our wild plum are now in bloom. The trees cluster around an old ash at the entrance of our driveway. Since the forest has not come into foliage, the light from the setting sun strikes them in the evening. The bloom are still white, but they will turn pink as the leaves come out. In August, we can harvest the fruit. Click on the image for a larger view.
Cicada
The exuvia of a cicada nymph. Click on the image for a larger view.
