Summer at Last

It is finally getting hot; in fact, the Crick has dried up and Panama is very low. I decided to see how the growing season was coming along.

The new growth in the woodlot is rather disappointing; as you can see, the conifers barely put on any length (incidentally, I love the rubbery feel of new needles--so unlike what they eventually become; it's like bumblebees that only tickle).

This is a balsam fir. There is about an inch of new growth--and this one is in a relatively well-lit spot near the path.  

On the other hand, the red pines in the Grove are candling very nicely: several inches on all the trees. 

Near the house, this black spruce has about six inches of new growth--and it has already hardened off! You can barely see the colour difference; it is about two weeks ahead of the trees deeper in the lot. 

                                                                          And just to show that it isn't all dismal, the flower baskets around the house are doing very well.  We have been basking in almost ideal weather: hot days (c. 30° C) and cool nights (around 12 C).