The miracle of May is that everything came out of nothing.
Lighting up the still-bare forest as the month commenced, was that perennial favorite of photographers everywhere, False hellebore. Their fountains of emerald-green, pleated, foliage punctuated the forest floor. At the same time the Hayscented and Cinnamon ferns sent their gracefully coiled, furry, fiddleheads up to explore the world. The morning light formed halos in their fur. Or sometimes they were found snuggling with False hellebores and Marsh Marigolds. The forest was a lacework of recently-bare tree branches now dotted with delicate translucent leaves, and blossoms—blossoms of Serviceberries and Maples gleaming in the half-light of early morning.
During the month of May, I learned about solitary bees—native bees that pollinate specific trees and plants. This is a big story! There are roughly 4,000 native bees in North America and I had never heard about them! The solitary bees live underground, and don't produce honey. The bumble bee is the exception, a native bee that is social, living in colonies but also not producing honey. I saw lots of Bumble bees but I didn't notice the solitary bees. I will be on the lookout for them moving forward.
The arc of May was from bare understatement to full articulation. Over the course of the month, essential structures cloaked themselves in incomprehensible, multiplicity.
Scroll past the image grid for links to more information about the plants, trees, and bees mentioned in this post. Click on the photo grid to see larger images:-)
This link leads to a beautifully prepared downloadable PDF.
Click on the image below to go to the Quick Bee Finder
Learn More About the Plants mentioned in this post.
False hellebore, Veratrum virideme
Marsh Marigolds, Caltha Palustris
Eastern Hay Scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula)
Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamon)
Serviceberries, Amelanchier
Maples, Acer