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| A BLUE SKY MORNING |
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| RED MAPLE FLOWERS IN FULL BLOOM... |
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| EACH FLOWER ABOUT THE SIZE OF A DIME... |
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| ...THE FLOWERS BLOOM BEFORE THE LEAVES UNFURL |
Friday, 9:00 AM. 44 Degrees at the Ferry Dock, 47 on the back porch. Wind NW, very light The sky is blue and clear, except for some haze on the eastern horizon. The humidity is 76%, the barometer trending down somewhat, now standing at 30.16".
It is truly spring when the red maples (
Acer rubrum) bloom. The tree I watch closely on Manypenny Ave. burst into bloom yesterday. Red maple is no effete transplant from warmer and more tender climes. Rather, it is the real thing, tough and hardy, and not likely to be fooled into blooming by a few early-spring warm days. Native to most of the continental US east, or in some latitudes a little west, of the Mississippi River, and north into southern Quebec and Ontario, it has a lot of genetic variability. Red maple prefers locations with plenty of moisture, but also grows on drier sites, and when planted exhibits survivability in locations well beyond, and different from, its native range.
Both male and female flowers grow on the same tree. When in full bloom the flowers are purple-red, about the size of a dime, and clustered together on the branches are quite beautiful, even if the tree as a whole is less than outstanding visually. That said, hillsides can turn reddish with red maple blooms, and some individual trees can be quite noticeable when in flower.
Even if we get a late snow, we should now be well into real spring, now that the red maples have voiced their opinion.
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