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Gopher Gulch: Keeping the plants happy
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Somehow rain and dreary weather during the first week of June always comes as a shock. Every year it’s a shock, which indicates that we’re all somewhat learning-disabled. I’ve learned to love it, and I’m not the only one. Redwood trees gather every drop and then share. They use some for the new tips on their branches, some to nourish their core and then let the leftovers dribble down to feed sorrel and salmon berries. Eventually a bit of it gets to a creek, which leads to a river which, with any luck at all, leads to the Pacific Ocean. No matter what your interest, a rainy first week in June is a very good thing. Not only do our redwoods remain healthy, but hikers eat salmon berries. Visitors will go home and tell friends and family about the fresh salmon berries on their morning oatmeal and the sorrel on their sandwiches while camping in the redwoods. And we have the only redwoods in the world. Those of us with a mushroom craving seek out the little darlings that appear and dissolve in a matter of hours. This warm rain can encourage the eruption of some amazing fungi, many of which can make you crazy or dead, so be careful.
Fishermen do their thing. I’ve never understood standing thigh-high in
rushing cold water when you have a choice, but there are those who do.
For which I’m profoundly grateful, by the way. Fishing on the ocean is
a whole different thing. It makes more sense, but it’s even scarier.
If only a gram of that initial drop of water that fell on a redwood flows out the mouth of a river, it will help keep the ocean healthy for fish and fishermen, for surfers and scuba divers and little kids playing on the beach. Warm, moist air brings out mosquitoes and gnats, a situation that creates a veritable banquet for swallows and other carnivorous little fliers. They need the food and we need them to do the eating, so wear your insect repellent and bless the birds. All the perennials and trees that were starting to knuckle down to face months of drought are joyfully sucking up this manna from the sky, and gardeners are facing their next water bill with relief. The foxgloves Dona gave me are now nearly three feet above the bottom of the front windows. They’re a glorious slice of life from the dry side of the glass. Bumblebees disappear inside and remain in the blossom as long as five minutes. Haven’t a clue what they’re up to, but the end I can see is very busy. While they’re sheltered in the most beautiful blossom ever, warm June rain is falling, there is no dust in the air, and the roots of plants just getting started are sucking up the moisture and sighing with relief. Those sighs are made up of pure oxygen, so keeping the plants happy with an early June rain is a very good thing. |
