“Among the purple buds like laden censers, careless upon the wind the catkins swing; they lay a golden spell upon the morning. From their soft glee how many trees will spring?”
— Mary Webb, English poet (1881-1927)
There are few things cuter than a bunny rabbit munching on a newly-sprouted dandelion. Between the days of rain and warm sunshine the yard has exploded with yellow dandelions, green clover and tiny white flowers, for which I have no name. An occasional blue violet, shy and introverted, peaks out here and there. The wild violets will not transplant well. I’ve tried it; they only shrivel up and die. So it’s best to just enjoy them here and there and try not to step on them.
Sam managed the first mowing of the season between the rains. The smell of cut onions permeated the air. I like the smell, just one more sign that spring has arrived. The crappie spawn has begun, so there will be a little less lawn mowing and a little more fishing. That is OK. I’ve asked Sam not to cut my plot of clover and dandelions. I’ll be foraging for the rabbits as long as they remain. When the dandelions burst into seed I blow the seeds into the air like a child, then feed the stems to the rabbits. Rex and Hatcher, the rabbits, will choose dandelions over lettuce any day.
The catkins of spring hang from the oak tree. When the winds blow the catkins fall and roll across the yard in large batches like tumbleweed. The name catkin first appeared in 1578. It’s thought the name came from its resemblance to a cat’s tail. The catkins usually fall over a period of four days, depending on rain and frost which may delay their release.
A catkin is the male part that fertilizes the female oak flower which is so small it can barely be seen and usually exists at the very top of the oak tree. The flower is what makes the acorns of autumn.
I often gather up the catkins and fit them into flower baskets, using them like organic mulch. The catkins, which Sam calls oak worms, are full of pollen — reportedly pounds of pollen that will cover your car and porch and cause allergic reactions in some people. It’s not entirely the fault of the cedars’ yellow pollen. The oak tree is a beautiful but messy tree, but not so much as a mimosa. Oak trees are also prone to galls. Galls don’t really harm the oak tree, but they are a bit unattractive. A gall is a woody-looking growth, usually about the size of a tennis ball. The gall is caused by a tiny, non-stinging wasp and sometimes a midge that lays its eggs in the tree bark. The insect injects a hormone substance to protect the larvae by producing this abnormal growth to surround the eggs.
There are a few ways to prevent galls. One can remove fallen limbs and leaves from attracting wintering insects, remove the limbs with galls then squash and bag the galls, or burn them. One attractive way is to add bird feeders, providing the insects with a natural predator.
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