April
An overview of life in the Methow finds plenty of activity on the valley floor in April. In the plant kingdom, the lowly mosses have been reproducing since late February; many moss species here live on rock and have to take full advantage of spring moisture. Deciduous trees and shrub leaf out this month, with cottonwoods in Twisp typically starting to green up the first week of April, and those in Winthrop greening by the third week. All of the “spring ephemeral” flowers can be found in bloom in April, including yellowbells, bluebells, springbeauties, sage buttercup, blue-eyed and pink-eyed Mary, and the elusive steershead. By the first week of April balsamroot buds can be found, and by the middle of the month the first flowers are visible, along with blooming serviceberry bushes. This is the month to observe the artistry of bluebunch wheatgrass, as new green shoots push up through the previous year’s matted clumps of dead leaves. In the animal world, steelhead have been spawning for a month in the river, Pacific tree frogs are chorusing in ponds all over the valley, and our snakes are warming their cold bones at the mouth of their dens in preparation for summer dispersal. Many birds return to the Methow in April, including hummingbirds and sparrows, harlequin ducks, and red-naped and Williamson’s sapsuckers. Say’s phoebes, having arrived in February and March, are often laying eggs by early April, while great-horned owl young are already fledging.
May
The unfolding begun in April continues in May. Those lowly mosses will dry out in the lowlands, their growth halted until autumn or a summer wet spell. The cottonwoods and aspens actually flowered in April (they are wind pollinated and the flowers are not showy) just as the leaves started to emerge, so by now their seed capsules are swelling, in preparation for releasing seed ‘cotton’ at the end of the month. The spring ephemeral flowers mentioned above are largely gone from the valley floor, although they can be found blooming at progressively higher elevations until July. Balsamroot flowers peak the first week of May; to be followed soon after by the ‘little sunflower’ (Helianthus uniflora)and by lupine. Ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir bloom in May, releasing enormous amounts of pollen from male cones into the wind, each pollen grain randomly seeking a female cone. Bunchgrass reaches its full stature this month and forms its own wind-pollinated flowers. Among the animals, the steelhead have finished spawning and will either die or move lower in the river system. The frog eggs laid in early April have already hatched, the little pollywogs wriggling off to an uncertain future. The snakes have abandoned their dens and are actively hunting in the shrub-steppe. And the birds keep arriving, with warblers and tanagers arriving the first week of May, Lazuli buntings and orioles the second week, black-head grosbeaks and Swainson’s thrushes the third week, and common nighthawks in the caboose, the last migrant bird to show up, the last week of May.
June
Many of the bird species so recently arrived are already fledging young in early June; I have records of bluebirds fledging on June 3rd one year and on June 4th the next year. Say’s phoebes also fledge their first brood in early June, which are then fed by the male as the female incubates a second clutch of eggs. Our two common wild rose species, Nutka and Wood’s rose, both bloom in early this month. They have a similar look, but Wood’s rose petals are one inch long or less, while Nutka petals are well over an inch. The sepals, which remain on the rose hips through the next winter, also differ in size, and allow one to identify the plant most of the year. Wood’s rose sepals are about 1/2” long, while Nutka sepals are ¾” or more. The Methow River usually crests on about June 1st. As water overflows into the floodways and floodplains, it picks up organic material in the form of fallen leaves and woody debris. This pulse of nutrients becomes a primary source of food for aquatic organisms as it decomposes under cobbles, in pools and along the riverbank. There is an entire suite of aquatic insects that have evolved just to feed on this material. Among their ranks are shredders, scrapers and collectors with specialized mouth parts to feed on this detritus. These insects in turn are a primary food source for the juveniles of spring and summer chinook, steelhead, bull trout, cutthroat and rainbow, whitefish, for sculpin and dace, and for several birds- dippers, harlequins, and goldeneyes.
June 21
This is Midsummer Night's Eve, also called St. John's Eve. St. John is the patron saint of beekeepers. It's a time when the hives are full of honey. The full moon that occurs this month was called the Mead Moon, because honey was fermented to make mead. That's where the word "honeymoon" comes from. Midsummer dew was said to have special healing powers. Women washed their faces in it to make themselves beautiful and young. They skipped naked through the dew to make themselves more fertile. It's a time for lovers. An old Swedish proverb says, "Midsummer Night is not long but it sets many cradles rocking." Midsummer Eve is also known as Herb Evening. Legend says that this is the best night for gathering magical herbs. A special plant flowers only on this night, and the person who picks it can understand the language of the trees. Flowers were placed under a pillow with the hope of important dreams about future lovers. Shakespeare set his play A Midsummer Night's Dream on this night. It tells the story of two young couples who wander into a magical forest outside Athens. In the play, Shakespeare wrote, "The course of true love never did run smooth."
An overview of life in the Methow finds plenty of activity on the valley floor in April. In the plant kingdom, the lowly mosses have been reproducing since late February; many moss species here live on rock and have to take full advantage of spring moisture. Deciduous trees and shrub leaf out this month, with cottonwoods in Twisp typically starting to green up the first week of April, and those in Winthrop greening by the third week. All of the “spring ephemeral” flowers can be found in bloom in April, including yellowbells, bluebells, springbeauties, sage buttercup, blue-
May
The unfolding begun in April continues in May. Those lowly mosses will dry out in the lowlands, their growth halted until autumn or a summer wet spell. The cottonwoods and aspens actually flowered in April (they are wind pollinated and the flowers are not showy) just as the leaves started to emerge, so by now their seed capsules are swelling, in preparation for releasing seed ‘cotton’ at the end of the month. The spring ephemeral flowers mentioned above are largely gone from the valley floor, although they can be found blooming at progressively higher elevations until July. Balsamroot flowers peak the first week of May; to be followed soon after by the ‘little sunflower’ (Helianthus uniflora)and by lupine. Ponderosa pine and Douglas-
June
Many of the bird species so recently arrived are already fledging young in early June; I have records of bluebirds fledging on June 3rd one year and on June 4th the next year. Say’s phoebes also fledge their first brood in early June, which are then fed by the male as the female incubates a second clutch of eggs. Our two common wild rose species, Nutka and Wood’s rose, both bloom in early this month. They have a similar look, but Wood’s rose petals are one inch long or less, while Nutka petals are well over an inch. The sepals, which remain on the rose hips through the next winter, also differ in size, and allow one to identify the plant most of the year. Wood’s rose sepals are about 1/2” long, while Nutka sepals are ¾” or more. The Methow River usually crests on about June 1st. As water overflows into the floodways and floodplains, it picks up organic material in the form of fallen leaves and woody debris. This pulse of nutrients becomes a primary source of food for aquatic organisms as it decomposes under cobbles, in pools and along the riverbank. There is an entire suite of aquatic insects that have evolved just to feed on this material. Among their ranks are shredders, scrapers and collectors with specialized mouth parts to feed on this detritus. These insects in turn are a primary food source for the juveniles of spring and summer chinook, steelhead, bull trout, cutthroat and rainbow, whitefish, for sculpin and dace, and for several birds-
June 21
This is Midsummer Night's Eve, also called St. John's Eve. St. John is the patron saint of beekeepers. It's a time when the hives are full of honey. The full moon that occurs this month was called the Mead Moon, because honey was fermented to make mead. That's where the word "honeymoon" comes from. Midsummer dew was said to have special healing powers. Women washed their faces in it to make themselves beautiful and young. They skipped naked through the dew to make themselves more fertile. It's a time for lovers. An old Swedish proverb says, "Midsummer Night is not long but it sets many cradles rocking." Midsummer Eve is also known as Herb Evening. Legend says that this is the best night for gathering magical herbs. A special plant flowers only on this night, and the person who picks it can understand the language of the trees. Flowers were placed under a pillow with the hope of important dreams about future lovers. Shakespeare set his play A Midsummer Night's Dream on this night. It tells the story of two young couples who wander into a magical forest outside Athens. In the play, Shakespeare wrote, "The course of true love never did run smooth."
