The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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June 6, 2022
maritime Pacific Northwest
According to weather records, our late spring this year in the PNW has been especially cold and wet. In my area temperatures since April have been running about ten degrees lower than normal. It hasn’t hit 70° yet at all and low temps have been consistently in the 40s. Consequently vegetation has had a late start this year. Nootka roses are blooming about two weeks late, Salmonberry fruit as well. The vegetable garden is even later: beans, zucchini and corn are just now germinating.
Much of my garden is in pots on my deck. You can see how the lettuce is doing great. I gave up after replanting cucumber seeds several times and put in nursery starts. Note the brown foliage in the background: that’s a eucalyptus tree I planted about 25 years ago. Sadly it looks like the extreme cold snap (12°F for a while) last winter has killed it.
Serviceberry is just setting fruit. Native crabapple is still at flowering stage. Both those are about two weeks late according to my records (date stamps on old photos).
Haven’t been seeing as many bees around as usual but there appears to be enough pollinators to get fruits to set.
Besides the cold, it’s been much wetter than usual. What a contrast to last spring! The rain stopped in March last year and the catchment tanks were very low by this time in 2021. This year we’re ¾ full at least.
Yesterday even in the rain, there were many visitors to the birdfeeders. Besides the usual cohort (mainly House, Purple and Goldfinches, Siskins, various woodpeckers, Black-headed grosbeaks, Chestnut backed chickadees, RB nuthatches, Spotted towhees, RW blackbirds and juncos), a couple of Bandtailed pigeons gave the seed feeder a try. Also a rare Mourning dove. And a female Evening grosbeak. Today both the female and a male Evening grosbeak have been working the feeder. Usually those guys just pass through, unlike the BH grosbeaks who stay to nest. I’ve been hearing the BHs singing in the trees around the house. I have NOT been seeing the Red Crossbills who usually nest here at this time of year. A couple came through in early April but didn’t stay.
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There’s also been a youngster raccoon who comes by in the evening to scavenge dropped seeds. We bring the feeders in for overnight.
Massive slug presence this year. Sluggo helps but with all the rain it needs reapplying often.
All my pics are from my backyard, that being as far as I can walk currently. And pics are by iPad since my camera is still too heavy for me to wrangle (my recovery from surgery has been slow but that’s not unexpected given the scale of the reconstruction. But I’m steadily improving, hopeful I can expand my scope of nature watching soon!)
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High overcast today in the PNW islands. Temperatures in mid 50s.
WHAT’S UP IN NATURE IN YOUR AREA TODAY?