Pleasures of Summer

People keep asking me when this or that species of wildflower is going to bloom. Well, in general, blooming is off to a later than average start due to the late snows. But, beyond that, it's hard to pin anything down. Who knows what April weather will be like? Certainly not the Farmers Almanac, nor the weatherman!:) I have my own hypothesis, as follows: Lot's of metabolic stirring has been going on under the snow. The sequence of species blooming will probably be the usual. However, the Earth still turns, and the seasons come and go, so I think perhaps we'll have a "compressed" spring. That is, our common species, once blooming begins, will bloom in a more rapid sequence than usual, and perhaps more abundantly than usual, until by mid-June, the schedule is more or less back to normal for summer. I have not set up instruments and hidden cameras all over the place to test this, nor do I have hard data from previous years. I'll just enjoy making casual observations, taking pictures, drawing, and having interesting conversations. Looking forward to summer's pleasures.
Today's photo is a close-up of my son's index finger. Oh, it happens to be entwined by a little Ring-neck Snake. This is an ideal snake with which the herpetophobic can reconsider their fears. It is so gentle and so pretty, it's almost unbelievable. They only get about a foot long, eat worms and slugs, and give the impression of enjoying human contact. Be gentle.