May is our month for condensed springtime. During the month, our plants experience a phenomenal growth surge and the weather is even more volatile. This year, May brought beautiful clouds, dense fogs, high winds, plenty of sunshine, and driving rain showers that turned the new summer coats of our White-Tailed Deer into shag.
One of the highlights of many Mays has been the domestic bliss of a pair of Osprey that repeatedly have returned to a large nearby nest to honeymoon and raise nestlings. We call the parents Ozzie and Harriet and report on them regularly. Below, you see Harriet incubating her eggs in her queen-sized nest, Ozzie joining her, and Ozzie fishing for Harriet’s lunch. (Severe over-night storms during the last few days of this May have us worried about the viability of her eggs. We’re watching.)
This May often was cold and windy. We saw only one tightly-tucked Painted Turtle basking in our pond during the month, and then even this tough guy disappeared back into the bottom muck and has not returned since. We expect him and several other shelled sunbathers in June.
On the commercial waterfront, some of the fishing vessels that have been dredging for scallops this winter still had their masts, booms, and other dragging gear attached at the end of the May. However, many others in Naskeag harbor and Stonington were using May to load up for June lobster fishing during the month.
On the recreational and educational waterfront, sailboats and other small craft were cleaned up and moored along the coast in May. Here, you see some of the WoodenBoat School’s small fleet, all of which were put into Great Cove during the month for classes in June.
May is the month that our flowering trees wake up and try to outperform each other. Below, we start with the white flowers of Shadblow and Chestnut trees. Following them are the blossoms and flowers of wild Apple Tree, Plum, and Crabapple trees.
The Crabapple Trees were stunning in sun and rain this year, as was the specimen Japanese Maple in the Brooklin Cemetery.
Lilac Bushes are always a May favorite around here. Their beauty and scent are the essence of the month.
In the woods and fields, other favorite May performances were given as usual during the month. Starflowers and Bunchberry began to cover the darkening woods’ floors and Lupines, Bluets, and Blue Flax appeared in the fields out of nowhere, an annual magic act that no one tires of.
May’s volatile growth is perhaps easiest seen in the bogs and ponds. Below are images near the beginning and end of the month: Fern, Arrow Arum, and Skunk Cabbage
Of course, May has its serious side. The month ends with Memorial Day and so will our report. Below, we see the Town’s historic Camperdown Elm proudly guarding fallen veterans and others in the Brooklin Cemetery.
(All images taken in Down East Maine during May 2021.)