Trees and Late Spring
    It’s just past the middle of May, and most of the trees near our house are in full dress for the summer months. But some trees are not quite there yet. On a stroll around the place this morning, I noticed that many trees are still in the process of donning their summer attire.
    The white pines and Virginia pines were especially striking with their conspicuous new growth.  Pale green stalks, standing straight up several inches high, were affixed to the tips of branches. They gave the pines the look of old-fashioned Christmas trees, complete with candles attached to the tips of branches. Â
    As I looked more closely at these upright little stalks, I saw that the younger ones were covered in what looked like a green stubble. But on the stalks that had developed a little further, the ’stubble’ had grown into tiny needles, not more than a quarter-inch long.  Before much time passes, the ’stubble’ will grow into full-length green needles.Â
    The perky green stalks will relax their vertical stance to become horizontal. The green will turn brown, and the once flexible stalk will be a woody branch, a seamless addition to the tree. In fact, it will be impossible, before long, to tell where this year’s growth began!
    Then there are the spruces. These giants also have some growing to do in the coming days. Their broad, splaying branches are tipped in a lively, youthful green, a contrast to the dark, mature green from which they have come. I was reminded of painted toenails on broad, many-toed feet. And this new growth is soft and pleasing to touch, about as different from the stiff, sharp adult needles as is the skin of a baby from an adult human.
    I observe the red maples. Only a few still have leaves that are slightly folded, hanging below their stems. But it won’t be long before they are ready to lift and spread to receive the sun’s full warmth. Â
    Walking farther from the house, I pause to enjoy the black cherry tree in the orchard. Its delicate young leaves flutter on their thin, supple stems.  I am drawn to the blossoms, so different from the variety that we associate with spring in the nation’s capital. These are tiny, tiny, white flowers arranged along a three- or four-inch stem. (They have the faint, sweet ‘white flower’ smell that my husband has noted about the white flowers produced by so many unrelated plants.   Why so many types of white flower would smell so much alike is a mystery to us).
    As I walk back to the house, I pause to look at the saucer magnolia tree. Its big, fat green leaves have completely replaced the big, fat, pink blossoms that covered the branches just a few weeks ago.Â
    Amazing. Like any other day of the year, this late spring day is full of wonders.–April Moore
May 18th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
hers to Spring and thank you
May 18th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
I’ve seen several movies that use speeded up spring to indicat passage of time, where what you describe is but a milisecond of time on the tape. The entire blooming happens in less than a minute, and it is beautiful. But nothing can approach the patience of the process and the patience it teaches those of us who observe. We watch the interweaving of species building from the parts that start first and add in other species and actions until the whole is in harmony and the next season is officially started. No clear cut boundry exists for when everything is done with its blooming and birthing. Perhaps when the dying starts we can say the newness is ended. We all know the dying isn’t death as the following spring brings more newness…a movement and a change within the same environment with recognizable continuity. Thank you for your late spring thoughts and observations April.
May 18th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Real green shoots….