Creature Feature – May Treasures

As a nature enthusiast, May is one of my favorite months.  Beauty abounds:  the eruption of verdant leaves in the woodlands; colorful, fragrant flowers popping up; jubilant birdsong in the air; and the season’s first newborn fawns and romping baby foxes… May is simply heavenly.

I encourage you to soak in the glorious sights, sounds and scents that this month brings.  Take your kids, or grandkids, or invite a friend, and head outdoors on a “treasure hunt,” as May offers us a trove of precious gems, some of which shine for just a little while before they’re gone for another year.  

Some May treasures include the nostalgic beauty and sweet perfume of lilac and lily-of-the-valley blooms, and the handsome rose-breasted grosbeaks, with their dapper black, white and raspberry plumage and buoyant whistles.  Look for Baltimore orioles; the male is a dazzling orange and black, and the female will be busy weaving her unique hanging nest.  Also keep an eye out for ruby-throated hummingbirds — they’re back!  Search for green frogs around a pond and painted turtles basking on logs.  Watch swallows catch bugs on the wing.  Hear the drone of buzzing bees as they fly in a field full of dandelions, and laugh at the roly-poly woodchuck scampering to its burrow.  Breathe in the fresh scent after a rainfall, and marvel at the rainbow’s miracle. 

What other treasures will you discover in May?

Margie Manthey