Twin Oaks in May

A mighty oak rises in my woods, given more sun light with the demise of the tree to the right.  This photo strikes me as possessing some sort of power.

April and May are two of my favorite months of the year.  This May began windy and rainy, like April.  But, toward the middle of the month, it became more like May, only faster.  Everything seems to be blooming and maturing 3-4 weeks early so far this year.

The sweet intoxication of honeysuckle and privet dominated most of the month.  Usually the honeysuckle comes first, followed by the privet toward the later part of the month.  This year they put forth simultaneously to create an intoxicating, sometimes overpowering sweetness.  Jennifer felt like it was burning her nose.

May is the month for daisies.  We did not have as many this year as in the past but they were still glorious. Flowers of all kinds keep coming in abundance, as the woods fill in completely and the lush growth prepares for the heat of summer.

My woods filled in nicely in May.  You can barely see the morning sun peaking through the leaves and trees along the trail in this shot.

May is the month for daisies at Twin Oaks.

I took this shot on a morning walk in early May.  There were not as many daisies this year compared with past years but they were still a beautiful testament to spring.  You can see the remains of the red clover from April in this shot.  It was so cool and quiet when I took this.  I lingered and enjoyed the moment.

A lot of daisies came up along the bank down by the road.  Hopefully they were a treat to those in vehicles passing by.  Unfortunately, late in the month the county road crew came through with their mowers and cut the daisies along the bank.  Why, I do not know.  Thoughtlessness is my guess.  Maybe they were not a treat to anyone else rushing along with their work.

Facing south in the lower field.  The area was dotted with daisies. I will let them all go to seed and then mulch them into the ground.  Hopefully they will come again next spring.

An Amaryllis from Jennifer's grandmother.

The stamen of the amaryllis fully mature.  It puts forth a tiny triangular flower to further allure insects to its pollen.

Lantana.

Rose campion.

Pink Blush variety of rose campion.

Asiatic Lily.

Lilies, poppies, and roses all bloom in May.  This is the oldest garden on our property.  I tilled the ground for it while the house was still being built in 1993.

Common Green Onion allowed to become unruly.

A magnificent onion head.

Close-up of a poppy, an intricate geometric miracle of nature.

Mini petunias. 

An old plant Jennifer got 20 years ago.  We no longer recall the name..

Its blooms appear white but upon closer inspection have a delicate pink tinge to them.

The red clover transformed into seed heads in May.  Looking forward to these reseeding and returning again early next spring.  A big part of country living for me is connecting with the cycle of change and renewal in nature.

A red hot poker.  Jennifer got this from an old maid gardener over 20 years ago.

Nasturtium.

Asiatic lily.

Miniature yellow rose given to Jennifer from her dad's funeral.

Another Amaryllis.

The stamen of the amaryllis.  In this case I photographed it early and the flowering part is still unopened and pushing outward.

Our spirea puts out tiny lavender blooms in May.

I photographed this nandina many years ago.  It was one of our first foundation plantings.  It is still here but now shares its bed with a different assortment of other plants. 

Verbena bonariensis along our driveway.

A close-up of the verbena reveals tiny blue flowers emerging between small blooms.

White fan flower.

Hearty sedum.

Honeysuckle is always prevalent around my woods in May.  Its sweet aroma is embedded in my mind as a part of this time of year and reminds me breathing it in at many other places I have lived in years past, stitching the years together into a one glorious unified sense of spring.

Privet was bountiful and came about two weeks early this year, blooming about the same time as the honeysuckle, making it difficult to distinguish one scent from the other.

The privet were all heavy-laden with blooms.  There were several days when the scent was intoxicating to the extent that it slightly burned my nostrils.

There was a lot more critter activity at Twin Oaks in May.  This butterfly posed for me during one after-lunch walk.

Kudo and I have several different walks we take every day.  Walking through one particular section of the forest over several days, I noticed a buzzard was hanging out in the trees.  It would usually fly away as we approached.  On this occasion it flapped over and perched on a dead branch on the edge of my property, silhouetted against the gray sky.  Posing for me, as it were.

More critter activity.  A rabbit sunbathes in the middle of my front yard along with a robin seeking worms.

I haven't seen as many turtles this year but this one was taking a hike on one of my walks.

Our house as seen facing east from the far end of my front yard.  You can see the needle grass I let grow on the right.  I thought this was in interesting depiction of the house with that puff of white cloud overhead.

As the needle grass matured it put our seed heads in mid-May.

The taller the grass got the more wavy it became from the weight of the seed heads,  giving it an impressionistic look to me.  By the end of the month it was all driven down by soaking rain accentuating the weight of the small husky seed heads.

Highlights: The month began with a lot of gusty wind and rain.  Then it became more "May-like."   Cool mornings and warm afternoons.  The profound sweetness of honeysuckle and privet pervades the air.  Daisies reach their peak.  The needle grass grows tall.  For most of the month it seems like little else happens.  A few flowers continue to bloom from April.  Then, about mid-month, bam!  An explosion of new activity as Twin Oaks transforms from late spring to early summer.