The Sun, Plants and their Rhythm through the Season

February 16

Watched the sunrise this morning from the second floor of our home. This room on the east side of the house affords a better view than the eat side of the kitchen. It all started as I was making coffee and seeing the blazing colors coming from the east and I knew it would be a beauty this morning. I love watching the sun rise and sun set, it’s mesmerizing. I was watching the rising sun over snow covered rooftops, powerlines and a multiple of tree branches. The sun burned through them all to display its light on our world. Do I wish I were on some quiet beach watching this same sun rise. Yes, of course, and I have enjoyed them there. But I was here, with multiple obstacle’s and it still shone bright. Whenever watching a sunrise or sunset, I am prone to reflection and this morning was no exception.  The rhythm of the Earth’s movement around the sun is similar to the rhythm of the plant world, they both rise and fall only to rise again, both being on a schedule. The suns schedule is very rigid. You can set a watch on the rise and setting of the sun. Most plants are a bit less rigid depending on both sun and temperature. At this writing most plants are sleeping, trees and shrubs keep their tight buds just waiting for the signal from nature while perennials are resting under the snow. In the early spring we see the new growth peaking out from its winter blanket. Snowdrops are the first to tell us spring is coming. I’ve taken pictures of them flowering in February after an early warm up. Lenten Rose sends up their blooms in late March in a normal winter long before leaves come, both flowering plants have nodding flowers almost apologizing for the early arrival before the rest of the ‘plant party’ happens. Take the time to really look at these flowers. They are exquisite in their beauty in such subtle ways…but then I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff. The sun gets higher in the sky bringing more daylight hours and warmth We see the emerging buds of trees that bloom early, especially Maple and Serviceberry. When driving through the county on a lovely spring day you’ll see a red hue in the forest, it’s the glow of red maple blossoms, or you’ll see a splash of pure white flowering serviceberry on the edge of the woods, sometimes in the open meadow. Then a couple weeks later the chartreuse flowers of sugar maple cloth the forest. All are a huge contributor to feeding early pollinators. Forsythia is another early flowering plant, beautiful and a harbinger of what’s to come but they don’t attract insects to their flowers. Many woodland perennials flower early to take advantage of a forest without foliage. They know it won’t be long before the shade invades their now sunny forest floor. Their season is very short but very productive. As the earth slides across the sky the sun is up for many hours blanketing life with sunlight and twilight lasting until late in the night. The perennials awaken and waste no time. During the summer solstice the earth and sun do a dance, celebrating for a few days before our shifting Earth start the Sun on its southern journey.  Most plants sense this change in late June knowing the abundant sunlight allow them to store energy, flower and set fruits or nuts for the next generation. Soon enough the autumnal equinox will be here as the sun keeps sinking in the southern sky. Plants know they need to slow down and start storing energy to get through the winter months. Birds know it too and the fruit and seeds plants provide for them is fuel for their migration. The late summer sun signals the leaves to stop their ‘leaf engine’ from making energy, which they have been doing all summer to send that energy (nutrients and sugars) to the rest of the plant. They are now preparing to shut down for the winter. When this pipeline between leaves, branches and roots shuts down, the sugars trapped in the leaves form a bond with other leaf molecules that give the leaves their brilliant autumn colors. When this first happens, we don’t see any change, leaves are still green, but as the late autumn sky lengthens nights it’s time for leaves to turn color and fall to the ground to become the compost for next year. The early snows come and blanket the landscape and the sun keeps sinking further south. By Winter Solstice the sun sets far south around 5:00pm, twilight is short with nights being long. The Earth and Sun hold still for a few days and the dance across the sky starts over again.

Spring is coming. I can smell it in the air.