Take this flowing plum (at least that's what I think it is) over at the Farmersville/Jackson. Twp. Park. The flowers are still beautiful today and show no damage at all. Local magnolias, however, seem to be worse for the wear. I see pink petals littering the ground. I suppose it was a scary time for fruit growers, too. It's bad enough to lose a showy plant, but what if it is also livelihood?
Here's Mom finishing our 0.7 mile walk. You can see her huddled in the shadow, hurrying to the next patch of sunlight. The pond almost looks as though it has not yet melted. But it has! The wind was whipping the surface and fingering beneath our coats as we made our way around. Dad, meanwhile, was waiting in the car for us to return.
We've had very pleasant temperatures so far this month, though only six days have been above normal of the first eleven. The furnace still runs at night and Mom shivers beneath a blanket even in the middle of the afternoon. "I'm not going to complain about the heat this summer," she promises. It was 55 degrees when we completed our walk.
I do not think conditions have been conducive for a morel mushroom crop this year: too cool, too warm, too wet, too dry. What will it be in the weeks ahead? If the crop is on schedule, I should find the first in the next nine days. Morels are foremost in my mind right now.
