Lit from Within
+Micro-Seasons Thirty-Seven through Forty-Eight
The green is almost overwhelming right now; every view awash in an electric, lit-from-within pallet of greens, as if there were tiny fires of creation burning inside each leaf, needle and bulb. The relentless rainfall, even though gentle, has added an extra shine similar to a Velvia-printed photograph on high gloss paper. There is so much green my eyes see a leafy hue when I look at things that aren’t remotely green. It reminds me of what happens to your vision in Utah, when after three days everything you look at is frescoed in a pinkish-red blush.
Here on the island, the peonies have opened, and the maples have sprouted their miniature helicopter wings, intermittently taking off from their slim runways of stems. Pollen cones of the Doug firs are dropping everywhere; the salal and wood rose are all a-petal; the Rodgersia is gaining inches of height a day, and God bless those hellebores, they are still blooming after three months of exhibition. The swallows, juncos, robins and grosbeaks are singing—singing even when they are vulnerable and cold. I wish I could sing such songs when I feel that way.
So much is unfolding and beginning every day that determining what specific transformation best exemplifies a single increment of a five day micro-season is almost impossible. Even so, here are the next two sets of six micro-seasons, and some snapshots of what I have notice here in the last few days.
Micro-Seasons: Thirty-Seven through Forty-Two
March 23rd - April 21st
Thirty-Seven—Last catkins of the red alders drop: Mar 23rd - 27th
Thirty-Eight—Pacific madrone blooms: Mar 28th - Apr 1st
Thirty-Nine—Wood fern fronds unfold: Apr 2nd - 6th
Forty—Elder blooms in white clusters: Apr 7th - 11th
Forty-One—Barn swallows return: Apr 12th - 16th
Forty-Two—Bracken spikes rise: Apr 17th - 21st
Micro-Seasons: Forty-Three through Forty-Eight
April 22nd - May 16th
Forty-Three—Leaves unfold from vine maple stems: Apr 22nd - 26th
Forty-Four—Wild honeysuckle climbs: Apr 27th - May 1st
Forty-Five—Antler nubs form on bucks: May 2nd - 6th
Forty-Six—Tender green cones form on the tips of firs: May 7th - 11th
Forty-Seven—Evergreen huckleberry blooms: May12th - 16th
Forty-Eight—First salmonberries: May 17th - 21st
And also:
