First Columbine, Preston

My trek today took me to a new area, this one north of my ridge in a stretch of fields and wetlands that may, in time, become a refuge. It was a beautiful spot, and as I walked and drank in the terrain, I hoped that preservation would eventually become possible and that, in the meantime, I'd have plenty of opportunities to document its natural wonders. On one boulder I noticed something strange: a collection of new Columbine leaves. By themselves, this is nothing particularly unusual—the Columbines have leafed out in our wild gardens, too—but this group had several blossoms that were ready to open for hummingbird and bumblebee business. This was record-breaking early for Aquilegia, which, on the ridge, typically blooms for the first time at the beginning of May. Perhaps this was just normal behavior for this particular Columbine clump, or maybe it was a sign of accommodation to climate change... or, at least, a plant that was genetically ready to take advantage of the global-warming situation.