June 2020

June 1, 2020

Yellow Grub

Dave Mance III, Dispatches, June

Taking a three-year-old fishing is chock full of lessons. There...

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June 2, 2020

The hot, hot weather in late May took a toll on apple blossoms. They seem to have opened up on one day and disappeared the next. Of course, my sense of time, and most everyone else’s, may be a bit off, due to isolation and discombobulation.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 3, 2020

The year of the toad? They seem to be everywhere, all sizes, and now trilling from ponds.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 4, 2020

Ghost

Dave Mance III, Dispatches, June

I saw a small white mammal dash under a log...

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June 5, 2020

Starflower (Trientalis borealis) is a 4-inch high plant that doesn’t last very long and has small flowers, typically just one or two. The leaves are in a whorl, commonly of seven leaves and the small white flowers usually have seven petals. I don’t know of any other plants that grow in sevens, but maybe there are some. Another feature of starflower that is unusual is the flower stalks: at about an inch long, they are as slender as a fine thread. You can barely see them.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 6, 2020

Bears have been digging up jack-in-the-pulpits throughout the hardwood parts of our land. They make neat, clean little cone-shaped holes and only eat the big plants. The small jacks that so often surround the parent plants remain – until next year.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 7, 2020

The White Pine Removal Project

Dispatches, June, Patrick White

We’d been talking about and putting off the “White Pine...

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June 8, 2020

We’re a little nervous today, as we just sent out our first mass emailing, designed to let the world know we exist. Our existence depends on pre-buys and donations. If you enjoy this content, please support us. And please reach out to us with questions, story ideas, or simply to introduce yourself.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 9, 2020

Scarlet tanagers tend to sing from the treetops and the leaves are big enough now to obscure them. It might take a little time to see one but it’s well worth the effort.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 10, 2020

Sometimes, in the middle of the fronds of interrupted ferns, the leaflets are fertile and produce spores. Now these spore-producing leaflets are almost black and look as though they are deformed in some way. Not very attractive, but functionally they are fine. Just interrupted.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 11, 2020

Pickled Ramps

Dispatches, Foraging, June

One of the reasons that ramps, or leeks, or wild...

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June 12, 2020

Thick bushes are a good place to house the short-tailed fledglings that are still being fed. Not sure why short tails make birds look so cute, but they do.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 13, 2020

In winter black locust trees are stark – black, with sharply twisted branches, almost creepy. When flowering, as they are now, they are completely covered with gently drooping, beautiful flowers that almost cover a background of delicate leaves.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 14, 2020

This weekend’s cool, May-like weather has been a blessing for those of us who are desperately trying to catch up on our wood.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 15, 2020

Snapping Turtle Nest

Dispatches, June

Editor’s Note: Our friend Carolyn Haley, from East Wallingford, checked...

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June 16, 2020

The green frog tadpoles that overwintered in our pond are getting legs, mostly back legs at this point. Meanwhile, adult females are laying small eggs in big masses. It takes a year to make a green frog.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 17, 2020

Luckily, singing season for the veery lasts a long time. They’re still at it, mostly in the mornings and evenings.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 18, 2020

Every green thing is fully leafed out now and so far very little has been eaten by insects or has been food for fungi. A short-lived lushness that’s almost tropical.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 19, 2020

The first cut of hay is coming down. Farmers around here are leaving 4″ instead of the traditional 2″ because it’s been so dry.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 20, 2020

A robin was singing shortly after 4 am this morning, followed soon after by a veery. I’ve read that the timing of bird awakening is correlated to the size of its eye. Big eyed birds are the earliest risers.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 21, 2020

Yesterday’s thunderstorm brought an inch of rain to the village about 2 miles from here and just a fleeting dampness here. An unwelcome but not unfamiliar occurrence.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 22, 2020

The white pine needle damage you’re seeing is caused by a fungal pathogen complex, and its severity is linked to weather conditions from a year ago. Perhaps the dry June will lessen the severity of next year’s outbreak.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 23, 2020

Burlington had never seen more than 4 straight days of 90 degree heat in June. Yesterday was the 5th straight day. Today will be the sixth.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 24, 2020

Trout Fishing in Vermont

Dave Mance III, June

Many outdoor pursuits, were they analogized to the written arts,...

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June 25, 2020

A friend and I were trying to decide which birds were the most aggressive at the birdfeeder and we concluded that they all were pretty feisty, from the mourning doves right down to the hummingbirds.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 26, 2020

Unlike many of us humans, rattlesnakes like it hot, especially the females. When pregnant, a female’s body temperature is 6 to 8 degrees C higher than normal, which enables the embryos to develop.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 27, 2020

Hummingbirds can distinguish many more colors than humans. Not just ultraviolet, but ultraviolet+green, ultraviolet+red, and ultraviolet+yellow. Researchers spent three summers deploying sugar of various hues to discover this. We are “color-blind compared to birds” according to one of the scientists. And, according to me, it’s good to clean out the hummingbird feeder before it gets moldy.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 28, 2020

John Douglas

Side Hill Cider Mill

Dispatches, June, Virginia Barlow

Apple Balsamic Vinegar of Vermont hit the shelves just last...

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June 29, 2020

The green frog eggs laid at the warm edges of our pond hatched in about three days and the tiny tadpoles are nowhere to be seen.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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June 30, 2020

Most wild plants can be encountered on an every-day walk, but usually not showy ladies slippers. The time is now for a pilgrimage, to a place where they are in masses among lesser – but also beautiful – bog plants.

Ginny's Calendar, June

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