Plum Dandy

May is the month when the promise of spring seems finally fulfilled. Soon after we turn the calendar page, the first dandelions appear, then violets begin popping up in the lawn. A week or so later, there are blossoms everywhere. It's a glorious time to be alive and out-of-doors.

Here are some photos from my May rides to date....

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May 4: It's gorgeously clear and sunny, with a forecast high near 70 - just right for riding to work.

There's a particularly large crabapple tree along my route that always flowers about ten days before any others in the area. Today it's in full panoply of bloom:

Along the river trail, a Canada goose stands guard. Its mate is nearby; I expect to see fluffy goslings appearing any week now.

The river has dropped several feet since my last cycling post:

Dandelions star the grass next to the bike path:

The afternoon is even lovelier than the morning. On my way home, I stop for photos (and deep sniffs) of wild plum blossom:

The small, perfect flowers have a sweet, piercing scent that travels in puffs on the warm breeze.

A few miles from home, I startle some wild ducks in a rainpool next the road; they swim away, then waddle off across the wet field, heading for a larger pond farther away.

The two on the left are a mallard and his mate; I don't know if the others are their offspring, or a pair of a different breed. (It seems a bit early in the year for ducklings to be that large, so I'm guessing a different breed.)

Once home, I wander around the lawn to admire the violets. On rainy days they're damp and draggled, but today their faces are raised to the sun:

A good start to the month.

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May 7: It's a warm and cloudy Sunday with rain in the forecast, so today's ride is short, though with plenty of photo stops.

Along the country roads, hardwood trees sport dangling blossoms and spectral leaves:

Other things are blooming too:

Clockwise from upper left: marsh marigold, wood anemone, marsh marigold, plum blossom

Iris the bike leans against a bridge:

Far down the road, three deer come out of the trees and pause before crossing to the other side:

Near the next corner, I spot a large clump of mayapple growing a short way into the woods:

On the verge are more wildflowers:

Clockwise from top left: violet, mystery plant, field pussytoes, violet, garlic mustard

(As you can probably tell, I love wild plum blossom and violets. I can't resist snapping them wherever I see them.)

A good, if short, Sunday ride.

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May 9: The morning is very foggy, but forecast to clear in the afternoon. I'm determined to  ride to work, so I set off in the mist. Within a few hundred yards Iris and I are damp all over, so I stop for a moment to stow my camera inside my backpack. No photos will be taken this morning.

By the time I leave work, the sun has come out. Flowering crab trees along the levee are bursting into rosy bloom:

Winter cress shimmers in the grass next to the bike path:

Outside of town, the air sings with the whistle and call of robins, cardinals, and red-winged blackbirds.

Along a back road, a lonely oak is coming into delicate leaf:

It's such a treat to be able to ride to work and home again. And to be warm!

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May 11: Sunny and pleasantly warm-to-hot; another great day for a bike commute. I've only one photo from this ride; a snap of a favorite barn along my route home:

Such a lovely time of year, with new beauties around every corner.

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I didn't mean to go this long between blog posts, but life has been busy with crochet design (a magazine commission was just completed, and a new self-published pattern is coming down the pike) as well as regular work. And now our evenings are being spent watching the Giro d'Italia. The days are just packed. :)

What's flowering in your neck of the woods?

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