A Little Bit of Bloom Goes a Long Way

But the leaf predominates...

Emerging Oaks, Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts

I believe they're red, but they might be black. Who could resist?

Martha's Vineyard Plant Conservation, Chilmark

Our chock-full spring planting schedule opened up to provide me one day of marvelous solo exploration. My first walk was shadowed by diverse shades of gray, an impending rain storm, and quite a controversy (just Goggle the name and read the comments in The Vineyard Gazette) as I skipped down a lane connecting the Priscilla Hancock Meadow (Land Bank) to the ocean beach. The native Serviceberries' white bloom was thrown into relief by a ground layer not yet greened up mid-May. Even though we had a cold, late spring in Chicago, the Vineyard (despite it being an island) hadn't yet caught up: the red oaks were just beginning to leaf out (see next post) in their fetching cartoonish postures.

On the Northwest part of the island, at Daggett's Pond, I had the entire Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary (Sheriff's Meadow Foundation) to myself...well, just me and the deer ticks. One must be hypervigilant about Lyme disease. I'm always drawn to beech and so this whole grove had me enchanted.



Of course, given our logo is a fern (albeit a very abstract one), I was compelled to obsessively photograph the enchanting, anthropomorphic fronds as they emerged. On the return trip home through Boston, I just HAD to consume some with my trout dinner. This balanced my daily Vineyard meal of Lobster Bisque...now that I've been working with clients there for the past half dozen years, I know where to get the best.