In Nantucket, April is not quite winter, not quite spring. Not cold, but not warm. Daffodils brighten the gray trunks and skies, but the rest of the plant world is quiet. Astronomically and calendar-wise it is spring, but visually and weather-wise, it is not.
April is a gateway into growth and green. As I hike through Squam Swamp on April 26, it's windy and showers are spitting. The trees groan as they dance together, while the ferry horn moans and the wind soughs through the trees. The Tupelos are bare, but the first wood anemones are opening up in sunny spots on the forest floor. The leaves of Canadian mayflowers are poking up through the moss. The red maple flowers litter the trail.
There are many vernal pools, so different from the dry ponds of late March. My weather station recorded 3.93 inches of rain so far in April, compared to 1.4 inches last April.
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| Wood Anemone |
Josh and I hiked Stump Pond on Sunday, April 27, to get out of the 20 mph west wind. We were rewarded with the complete Windswept Bog wetland restoration and Trailing Arbutus and Houstonia Caerulea in the protected sunny spots.
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| Trailing Arbutus, Epegia Repens |
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| Quaker Ladies, Houstonia Caerula |
When we hiked Norwood Farm on April 28, the ponds had been replenished a bit, although Almanac Pond is very very small.
I had a bird of prey morning at Squam Farm, with an American kestrel, a Merlin, two northern harriers and ospreys!
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| Almanac Pond |
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| American Kestrel |
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| Northern Shoveler in Sesachacha Pond |
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Eastern Towhee at Squam Farm
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| FOY Shad |
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| Oystercatcher at Jackson Point |
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| Storksbill |
