Once again the Earth has cycled back to where its northern half (which happens to include us) is tilted towards the Sun, giving us our longest days and some of our warmest weather — our high summer. In our corner of the Catskills, and on our reach of the Hudson Valley, in terms of burgeoning life-forms, this is a rich, rich time of year — a veritable life storm. We are literally surrounded by the fruitfulness of the season. The heavy, humid air we wade through is thick with insect life. Every species of animal is busily reproducing their kind and raising their young. Myriad trees and other plants are racing for the sky, and sending down new roots and making seed. The very topsoil at our feet is seething with countless forms of life — animal, insect and microbial. As I sit here on this beautiful June day, I am happily bombarded by a host of sensations. Most striking, with memories of a barren winter and a sparse spring fresh to mind, is the rich greenness all around me — from tall trees that seem even taller now with their proud leaves out (though some do show the effects of the recent spongy moths), like sails set on the sea of life (green reaching halfway up the sky), down to the younger, smaller trees, shrubs and vines, climbing and entwining higher and higher and then all the way down to grasses and mosses bending underfoot. A veritable sea of green, growing steadily deeper and darker. The pleasant warmth of early summer is wonderful, too, as a light breeze brings myriad scents to me. The term “spectrum” is generally used visually yet my ears are joyously assaulted by an entire spectrum of sounds — ranging from the gentle breeze sighing through the trees and shrubs, to the ecstatic cacophony of a multitude of songbirds all singing their summer songs. It is so interesting to watch the light change as clouds move overhead, their shadows dappling tree, grass and shrub with more subtle shades, then becoming bright again as the sky changes back to sun. No wonder some of the most powerful art was made in trying to do homage to this timeless natural palette.
Faunal flora
Tiger swallowtails have been here for a bit already and even one or two black swallowtails and a few captains. Soon to come will be brushfoots, dusky-wings, fritillaries, hairstreaks (I’ve said this before — great name!), hop merchants, viceroys, whites and sulphurs, metalmarks, nymphs, questionmarks (why?), satyrs, skippers, snouts, spring azures — all waiting for their reigning kings and queens. Also in the insect realm, we have good populations of dragonflies and fireflies. As the crickets proliferate and the katydids hatch, with any luck we’ll experience our full cricket chorus when our seasonal cicadas join us. Coupled with the virtually invisible tree frogs, we should all be able to enjoy our yearly summer symphony (backlit for a short while by the fireflies). A traditional indigenous name for this month is the buck moon, because this is when many male deer start growing their new antlers. Most birds now will have fledglings and some will even be starting on a second nest for the season! Most notable are the (relatively) huge awkward and gawky-looking bald eaglets preparing for their first flights. We haven’t seen much of our red-tail hawks lately because they are also getting ready to be among the original empty-nesters. They are particularly doting parents. It’s a very similar situation with local great blue herons, as well as barred owls and other local birds of prey.
Thank you all. Please remember to be extra careful out there as you enjoy this incredible season — have a fun and safe summer — “Ranger” Dave Holden / (845)594-4863 / woodstocktrails@gmail.com / Dave Holden on Facebook / rangerdaveholden on Instagram / www.woodstocknytrails.com. (Please visit my blog at this website for the full text of this article).
Join the family! 
