Pushkinia

Tues Apr 14 (Day 31). 6:30 PM. Sparrow rustling on the ground, in the leaves past the forsythia. low 50s, more cloudy than not, little wind. pond rippled on east side. duck lands, drags its feet for 10 ft or so. 2 geese fly the length of the pond, n to s. blackbirds. something behind me, a rustle, bird I'd say. a gnat or such. leaves a shade of copper brown that I could contemplate forever, almost, like a memory of a wood floor and a place of peace. Chionodoxa look tired, numerous. Puschkinia look fine. A few forsythia flowers open. Unknown bush near forsy. w/ white 4 petalled numerous flours, yellow stamen, dark base, heavenly scent, alternate leaf scars, light tan bark, fibrous in places. Name 5 things about a plant -- I take the mint like one: leaves approx triangle shaped, end near the stem is more or less flat, one side very slightly lower than the other. A dark green, underneath reddish, stem burgundy red, hairy. leaf about 1/2 inch square. opposite, very slightly wavy edges. 3 patches within arms length, 1 is the size of my hand with maybe 6 stems, 2 are more like 3 in square, it may have runners. I'm hesitant to dig around and disturb stuff. The leaves, in pairs, are at right angles to the pair before so it's a sort of cross effect, all crowded pretty close at this stage. Color: http://www.realcolorwheel.com/tubecolors.htm 2nd in on section 30.

Wed Apr 15. 4 PM. Windy and dry. Sunny, just some long thin clouds, wispy. The pond is smooth on the far side today. Two diving ducks, probably h.m. Lots of Glories, 20 in a 4 inch swath straight east maybe 25 ft. And a few bugs! A bee or a fly is visiting the glories one by one. 50s, would be hot but for the steady cold wind. Wandering around earlier I have to say Plant X is very common. Using the hand lens I look a bit more at the possible mint. Seen this way the leaves remind me of African violets, those little white kind of fuzzy hairs. On the stem they're a bit curly, possibly more numerous along the edges and bases of stems but everywhere, less numerous further down the stem, perhaps as it elongates they will space out a lot. They too curl a bit, dont look very stiff, come straight up but then some curl. The leaf stems clasp the main stem a bit, forming a slight ridge across it, lightly joined. And I think I find a dry flower stem, 4 sided, a few hairs, the few remaining dry flowers are irregular. I'll try and take a picture later. I crush one small leaf but the smell is faint.

Fri Apr 17. 6 PM. Warm -- 60s. Sunny, light breeze, wispy clouds. Black flies arrive, settling on my face and leaving again, just a few land, one tries to crawl into my eye. A bird is calling in the hickories, and I crane my neck and can just make it out, blackbird of some sort, but the cry might be a cowbird. Later 4 birds, no, 5, arrive and land in the beech tree -- first birds in the beech tree! They dont care about me, they are black but smaller than the red-wings, 3 black and 2 brown tan, one calls and makes a display just like the red-wings do, but the call is more musical, flutish, at the beginning, and I think I can make out the brown heads of cowbirds. A second displays. The first is edging toward the female. No wonder they don't care about me. Suddenly they all skirmish and fly off, except one who sits about for a while, displays once, then leaves. There are more pushkinia today, maybe 50 to 100 in sight, on top of the 100s of chionodoxa. The daffies here aren't quite open yet. The other plants looks a little bigger, and the quince buds have a slightly feathery aspect. Near the maple, 20 feet up or so, a swarm of bugs moves around in that swarm way that seems coordinated. Maybe the same ones I saw on a window before coming down, like a mosquito, at least the way the feet looked, with similar wings, but amazing little furry antennae, like a strange hairdo almost. The two beavers are making their way leisurely down the pond, north to south, diving from time to time. I missed coming out yesterday, like not taking a shower or something.