I was horrified to see that the word “specie” that I used in last week’s bloom report to refer to the rhododendrons growing at Rhododendron State Park was the wrong word – it should have been “species” (the word refers to both singular and plural). “Specie” is a somewhat archaic term for money among other things. I was wrong. Sorry.
There really hasn’t been much visible change evident looking at the flower buds at the grove this week (although you can be sure that changes, however slow, are taking place in there somewhere). One of the most obvious visible changes is the expansion and growth of the vegetative (leafy, without flowers) buds. Some have grown up as much as 4-5″. The flower buds still look as tight as last week even though they are a week closer to blooming – still on schedule for the middle of July or so this year. Perhaps all this warm weather we are getting will “spur them on.”
Today (Mon. 6/12) it was so hot that even the bugs were laying low. Well, a few of them, anyway. It’s still pretty buggy in the grove. Any previous puddles have pretty much dried up, but if a thunderstorm comes along, they may appear again.
Early summer heat and humidity such as we have seen in the last few days really encourage songbird activity especially in a humid shady place such as the grove. Lots of birds were singing there today. I could pick up a few of the more obvious ones, but I am by no means a birder, so I’ll just keep quiet on the matter.
Remember to be prepared for lots of biting insects when you visit Rhododendron State Park.
Until next week,
Ted Lenk
