HONOR’S HAVEN NATURE ALMANAC 9

Date: 05. 23. 2011

With the recent arrival of the vernal equinox, we know spring is here. The cold and snowy winter that blanketed the earth in its wintry sleep is giving way to the awakening that comes every spring. It starts slowly at first, but by May it is bubbling like the brooks that flow through our property here at Honor's Haven. That is why May is one of my favorite months for several reasons.

First, May is a month of bird migrations, especially warblers. While warblers may be small in size, they are numerous and some are very colorful as can be seen by the American Redstart pictured on the right. As they come with a great variety of colors, they also come with a great variety of songs. Unfortunately the almanac is strictly visual so that I am unable to give you an example of their antiphonies. Many are here for a short time, passing through on their way to their nesting areas further north. Nevertheless many remain and nest here on our grounds. If you come in May we will gladly help you get a binoculars eye view of these birds.

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Second, May is the month when our freshly greening countryside becomes freckled with the bright colors of the wildflowers. To be sure many wildflowers like the Bloodroot, and Trout Lily have already blossomed and the Mountain Laurel is yet to come. Still May has its own crop of wildflowers like the White Cockle, the Wild Geranium (or Spotted Cranesbill) and one of my favorites, the Blue Flag (pictured on the left). The root and the leaf of the plant has been used in dealing with several maladies such as dropsy and burns. In contrast to many wildflowers whose blossoms are small, the Blue Flag has a blossom almost as large as its domestic counterpart, the Iris.

The last reason to really love May is that it is a great time to go fishing. Although our lake here at Honor's Haven isn't the biggest lake in the world, it has a good variety of fish. Beside the sunfish (some of which are quite large), we have bass and pickerel as can be seen in the picture on the right (yes, that 18 inch plus pickerel came from and was returned to our lake). Beside that, we have trout in the Sandburg Creek which runs along our property. If that were not enough, we are within an hour of some of the most storied trout streams in the world.

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Our May guests will have no shortage of things to see, hear, and do here at Honor's Haven. I hope that you can join us.