Field Notes: Summer 2026

Singing lessons

A spike of Broad-leaved Cattail gilded with pollen greets Asha and me at the edge of the Bridge over Gentle Waters. I’m leaning in closer, admiring the colors and shapes when I hear a familiar song: Wichety-wichety-wichety! Common Yellowthroat is announcing his presence. I spot him on an exposed perch atop a snag. He lifts his head, opens his beak and then … and then his whole body, from his bold yellow throat to his olive-colored tail, is in motion as sound pours out and fills the air.

I stay, watching and listening with awe and envy as he adds his voice to the song of the woods. And then my new friend takes flight. I begin walking again, thanking Common Yellowthroat for showing me what it’s like to add a song to the world in a confident, full-bodied way.

Smitten by almost-summer geometry

As Asha and I approach our lingering spot, we are encircled by Mountain Laurel shrubs whose white origami flowers are my favorite almost-summer blossom.

If you were walking with us, I’d exclaim, “Oh, look!”

And if you moved closer and leaned in, I’d ask, “Don’t the buds remind you of cupcake frosting?”

I’d point out the pentagonal geometry of the flowers – ten stamen, each curving into a cinnamon, scarlet or burgundy mark at the high and low points of the five lobes.

I might add that, come fall, the seed pods will have five sections.

But I’d be sure to tell you how the filaments attached to each pollen-bearing anther are pulled backward in an arc, creating a catapult, ready to fire pollen at visiting pollinators.

Are you smitten too?

Field Notes: Summer 2026

Singing lessons

Smitten by almost-summer geometry

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