The Garden of the Seasons: Happy May Day!

            Happy May Day, everybody. For much of the world May Day is a holiday for working people, who march in great numbers down the main streets of capital cities, or join protests -- against a corrupt president in the Philippines, or their exploitation as migrant workers in a wealthy country -- or defiantly celebrate a 60-year-old revolution inspired by people like Che Guevara. 
            For those of us living in New England, it's like "OK, maybe we can walk around in shirtsleeves for a couple of days. When the weather changes for the better on a fortunate date -- this sunlit, steadily warming First of May -- everything looks better.

            Truthfully, the last week of April warmed up sufficiently for me to make progress out of doors in clearing last year's debris from the perennial garden.

            The weeping Japanese tree (top of page) had its own cherry blossom season.

            The blossoms on the red maple tree out front rained down after an all-day shower and turned the sidewalk into a spatter canvas by some artist who really liked red.

            The vinca blossomed and spotted up violet (see bottom photo), about two weeks behind its usual schedule, in its many expanding colonies.

            The English ivy, that covers literally everything in its path, including a once-thick patch of Vinca Minor, received a two-hour gloved-hands thinning on a mild Saturday afternoon.

            The birds sang, and in the case of the robin posed politely for photo (see second from bottom photo), and we continued to feed them.

            A woodchuck meandered through our neighbor's lawn and took a sharp U-turn when he saw us coming.

            A nuthatch visited our feeder and then did a quick inspection of a nearby tree in his customary tail over head, upside-down-appearing fashion. The other birds resisted the temptation to imitate him and kept their own heads high.

            The hyacinths deepened their hues.

            The Japanese primrose made its annual early-spring appearance (see fourth photo). It has since opened two more blossoms.

            The pansies and the grape hyacinth brightened up the sidewalk strip (see third photo from top).
              We're hoping all these new friends will soon have plenty of company.