Last week was unseasonably warm, so over the weekend all of Newton seemed to be blooming, buzzing, and leafing: a flurry of flowering.
Spring’s first burst of activity is typically tenuous, however, and tonight temperatures are predicted to plunge below freezing. I don’t worry much for the wild plants and trees that were lured into leafing last week, as they are long accustomed to New England’s meteorological mood swings. But farmers who tend fruit orchards are rightfully worried that their early bloomers won’t last: the perennial risk of relying upon nature’s seasonal bounty in the age of Global Weirding.
Mar 28, 2012 at 5:20 am
I always worry about the bees and other insects in such circumstances — it seems they would be particularly vulnerable to wild swings of weather, but maybe not.
Mar 28, 2012 at 11:05 am
Yes, I have the same concern. In both the spring and fall, I often see still bees–either dead or very numb–clinging to flowers, as if a temperature change froze them right as they were feeding. I suppose that’s the risk of venturing out early (in spring) or late (in fall).