Back in VT.

5-22-16 VERMONT: I came up yesterday with a car full of stuff for the summer even though I’ll be back in NJ for a while. It’s black fly season here so DEET is essential if you poke your nose outside. I did the inventory of plants in bloom and counted everything just starting and everything down to its last wilted flower.

Today we had intermittent showers and temps in the sixties. I treated the pond, which looks pretty good, but the little pond in the pasture is full of algae. When it rained, I replaced a broken door latch and updated the CO detectors in both houses. Outside I did the fence repair, there were a few fallen rails that I put back in place after straightening the posts. I use wedges to keep the posts vertical, when needed. I had to make one new rail from a birch sapling. I also did a little pruning, and pulled out a bunch of garlic mustard.

In bloom: apple, bleeding heart, violet, dandelion, lamium, ajuga, quince, vinca minor, forget-me-not, azalea, epimedium, wild strawberry, primrose, jack-in-the-pulpit, gill-over-ground, ginger, spurge, hellebore, mertensia, celandine, service berry, star magnolia, blueberry, foam flower, buttercup, flea bane, pachysandra, trillium, pulmonaria, garlic mustard.


As it happens, here is another little, inverted, white bell - blueberry.

Foam flower grows wild in the pasture. I tried bringing some into the garden once with no success.

Another pasture wild flower - flea bane.

A little volunteer apple is making a big effort.

Red trillium also called 'wake robin', everything in threes, three petals, leaves and nine stamen.

White trillium after a shower.