A Walk in the Woods

For nearly two weeks now (apart from last week's cold snap), I've been out exploring and walking.  Each morning now the dog and I walk to the end of the road in our little subdivision, and head into the woods at the back of the neighbour's farm.  I get to watch the magic of May in the woods as nature wakes up, and the dog gets off her leash for a run.

Heading in  on the old tractor trail the only green seems to be the dark mossy boulders; buds aren't even swelling on the maples yet.

But once in the woods and looking around, there's a lot more green than a few days ago, like these leaves of the leeks, bright green in the morning sun.

And overnight it seems, the leaves of the Dogtooth Violets have popped out of the ground, though we haven't spotted a flower yet.  I think these are the single most common leaves on the forest floor in many deciduous woods around here.

The very first tree or shrub leaves to leaf out always seem to be the tiny seedlings of Pin Cherry, glowing red in the sun.

And those mossy boulders or stumps glow bright green when looking into the sun, here with their tiny sporophytes standing up straight.

Further on I discover a suspiciously grass-like plant which is actually a sedge, and it's in flower, another of the very earliest flowering woodland plants.

This is the tiny 'flower' of the Broad-leaved Wood Sedge, about 1/2 an inch tall.

Last year's wood ferns lie on the ground, having stayed green all winter under the snow.

And this year's fiddleheads are ready to uncurl.

The beech leaves which have clung to saplings all winter are still there, and shaking in the breeze.

But the long thin pointed buds of the beech haven't really begun to swell yet.

Meanwhile, Roxie has had a wonderful run through the forest, (she's mostly a nose on four legs), and waits patiently while I take pictures, her breath condensing in the cool morning air.

And looking through the woods as we head home I can see the promise of the next month in the green now popping up all over the forest floor.  The next three weeks are the most magic of the entire year in the woods here, and I will keep reporting on them, as the seasons in the valley unfold!