Bent and broken tree leans at Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 13 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
18 April 2025
Several days were sunny this week so I made sure to get outdoors.
At Raccoon Wildflower Reserve on 13 April I encountered a broken tree which I have seen many times before, but this time it had a shadow that nearly touched the far end. The brightly lit forest floor also shows why wildflowers bloom in April. They are flooded with light before the trees leaf out.
Best Photo of the week, though not a native wildflower. Purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) is blooming throughout western Pennsylvania.
Purple deadnettle, Frick Park, 14 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. john)
The day warmed up considerably at Raccoon Wildflower Reserve on 13 April. I could almost watch the flowers opening.
Trout lilies (Erythronium americanum) were just beginning to bloom along the south-facing cliff.
Trout lily, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 13 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Tulips in a garden in Shadyside, 3 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
5 April 2025, 6am
This week the tulips bloomed on Thursday, and then it rained and rained.
There are lots of showy tulips in Oakland and Shadyside where there are no deer to eat them.
Tulips on Fifth Avenue, 3 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Rain! Pittsburgh received 1.33 inches of rain in the past 36 hours so that, by 6am this morning, NOAA predicts minor flooding at the Point, the head of the Ohio. Of course that could change.
Ohio River at Pittsburgh flood gauge prediction as of 5 April 2025, 6am
Other parts of the country from Ohio and Kentucky to Arkansas are not so lucky. The purple spots on the map below are Major Flooding areas.
The map is derived by tracking daily weather conditions that prompt honeysuckle to leaf out. Yes, honeysuckle is invasive but it’s so pervasive and its leaves are so early that it’s a good common indicator of spring status across the country.
Here in Pittsburgh honeysuckle leaves began to emerge on 15 March in the city …
Honeysuckle status on 15 March 2025 in Frick Park (photo by Kate St. John)
… and were big and bushy yesterday, 2 April.
Honeysuckle leaves in Schenley Park, 3 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
It’s fascinating to watch Spring move north this year. 1 January through 2 April 2025 are shown in this animated map.
Yesterday morning it was sprinkling when I left for the Duck Hollow outing. It looked like more rain would come so there were only three of us: Andy, John and myself.
At the start we saw a common merganser pair, a flock of three lesser scaup, two wood ducks in flight and one bufflehead (as promised).
The most numerous two species are usually mallards and Canada geese but yesterday they were topped by northern cardinals and red-winged blackbirds conspicuously singing, chasing, eating and chasing again. (The photos are from Wikimedia, not our outing.)
Red-winged blackbird (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Andy found a tiny snail on the move with its antennae leading the way. By the time I took its picture it was hiding under leaves. Its outstretched neck and head are inside the pink circle but it is so dark that it’s hard to see.
Tiny snail on the move, Duck Hollow, 30 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Back at the parking lot John pointed out a northern rough-winged swallow flying over the river, considered “rare” by eBird because it showed up in March.
If you haven’t seen or heard another new arrival yet, the eastern phoebe, visit Duck Hollow. We saw/heard three.
Sharp-lobed hepatica, Barking Slopes, 25 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John) …Those are not its leaves.
29 March 2025
This week saw the real beginning of flower and leaf activity at Schenley Park, Aspinwall Riverfront Park, Barking Slopes and Raccoon Wildflower Reserve.
Flowers and …
Weather makes all the difference for spring wildflowers. They show off on sunny days.
The best weather by far was on 25 March at Barking Slopes where I found a single blooming sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba), lots of harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa), cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) in the bud, and coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) opening to the sun.
Harbinger of spring, Barking Slopes, 25 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)Cutleaf toothwort flowers in bud, Barking Slopes, 25 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)Coltsfoot, Barking Slopes, 25 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Ramps! Barking Slopes, 25 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Yesterday it rained while I visited Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, though it was sunny for half an hour at the start. These spring beauties (Claytonia virginica) were open early on … before I got wet.
Spring beauties, Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, 28 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Speedwell (Veronica persica) was hiding in the grass at Aspinwall Riverfront Park last Monday. Beautiful color.
Speedwell, Aspinwall Riverfront Park, 24 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Trees: A Hint of Green and First Leaf Out
Leaf out begins in the City long before the outlying areas. On 27 March at Schenley Park the willows gave a hint of spring and native buckeyes were already leafing out.
Willows greening up at Schenley Park, 27 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
At this time of year a tree that looks red at the top is a probably a flowering red maple (Acer rubrum) — like this one in Schenley Park.
Red maple in flower, Schenley Park, 27 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
I always search for low hanging branches to photograph the flowers. On 19 March this female red maple flower was easy to reach. The male flowers are yellowish because of pollen.
Red maple flowers, The Carnegie, 19 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Also on 19 March, yellow buckeyes (Aesculus flava) were already leafing out.
Yellow buckeye leafing out, Schenley Park, 19 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
By 27 March the bottlebrush buckeyes (Aesculus parviflora) had sizable leaves.
Bottlebrush buckeye leafing out, Schenley Park, 27 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
For the next three days it will be very cloudy in Pittsburgh but the temperature in the city will range from 59°F to 78°F — basically 60-80°.
I expect more flower and leaf activity before it turns cold on April Fools Day. Cold. No kidding.
American sycamore seed ball disintegrating at the end of winter (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
22 March 2025
As the weather warmed this month American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) seed balls disintegrated to disperse their wind-driven seeds.
On 16 March it was very windy when I visited Herr’s Island back channel. Sycamore achenes (seed packets) blew by me in the wind and piled up in the cracks like snow drifts.
A single American sycamore seed, 16 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Sycamore snow.
Many sycamore seeds gathering like snow drifts, Herr’s Island, 16 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
They had come from seed balls like these that had waited all winter for spring heat to make them stretch and burst.
Sycamore seed balls hanging like ornaments, 3 March 2018 (photo by Kate St.John)
Not only do they disperse on the wind but the fluff-tops have a second mode of transportation. They float.
Sycamore seeds swirling in the Allegheny River in Herr’s Island back channel, 16 March 2025 (video by Kate St. John)
Water carries them to their favorite habitats.
American sycamore is found most commonly in bottomland or floodplain areas, thriving in the wet environments provided by rivers, streams, or abundant groundwater.
Great horned owlet on a branch, Schenley Park, 12 March 2025 (digiscoped by Kate St. John)
The owlet spent Thursday well camouflaged on an inaccessible-to-humans cliff ledge. On Friday she was in a tree, see photograph at top. Juvenile owls use their claws to climb trees. (Note: in case you hear people calling her Muppet, Tamarack gave her that nickname.)
Mercury and Venus
After sunset on 9 March I noticed a bright planet in the west with a divot out of the top of it like a phase of the moon. It was Venus about to set. How did I live this long without knowing that Venus has phases?
When I digiscoped Venus I saw a shadowy planet next to it. Mercury was also about to set, pinkish and to the left of Venus whose brightness plays havoc with my optics.
Mercury and Venus with a divot off the top, 9 March 2025 (digiscoped by Kate St. John)
Here’s a view that shows Venus a bit better.
Mercury and Venus, 9 March 2025 (digiscoped by Kate St. John)
Incipient Spring flowers and leaves
Incipient is a good word to describe spring flower and leaf status this week. As of Thursday 13 March spring was “in an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop.”
Common whitlowgrass blooming in Aspinwall, 11 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Common whitlowgrass (Draba verna), a member of the cabbage family, blooms very early. It is native to Europe, western Asia and North Africa and is now spread around the world.
Honeysuckle leaves were just beginning to open on Thursday.
Incipient honeysuckle leaves in Greenfield, 13 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
And the Cornelian cherry tree near Panther Hollow Lake had a single tiny flower open in the bud.
Incipient Cornelian cherry flowers, Schenley Park, 13 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
All of these plants are from other continents and they start blooming sooner than our native plants.
After yesterday’s very warm weather everything else will speed up.
Woodland crocuses blooming in the lawn on Neville Street, 4 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
5 March 2025
The crocuses are blooming!
But of course they are. In yesterday’s sunny and unseasonably warm 67°F the woodland crocuses (Crocus tommasinianus) on Neville Street were in full bloom. I say “were” because today’s rain, clouds and wind will probably keep them closed.
The crocuses dotted the lawn, above, and opened their petals to the sun.
Woodland crocus blooming in the lawn on Neville Street, 4 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Honeybees came to take a sip.
Bee visits blooming crocuses in the lawn on Neville Street, 4 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
Now that they’ve opened, how does this year’s crocus bloom date compare to those in the past? Is it later than usual because we had such a cold winter?
Surprisingly, this year is on the early end of the spectrum, based on my record of Crocus First-Bloom Dates in Pittsburgh’s East End since 2009.
I don’t have a crocus record but the date was probably March 7, 2016 based on temperature data, this post about coltsfoot, and feedback from Supriya in Squirrel Hill.
Plotted on the calendar it’s easy to see that the dates cluster and the outliers are early, not late. Repeated dates are circled twice. Interestingly, the dates in February become earlier each time they occur.
Honeysuckle leaves in a Too Early Spring, 20 Feb 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)
20 February 2025
Yesterday I looked back seven years and found photos of honeysuckle leafing out! Obviously we’re having a very different February than we did in 2018 when it was hotter than normal.
How does this year’s Spring status compare to years past? Here are a few photos for comparison.
Maple tree flowers: 2023 vs 2025
Only two years ago the maple trees had started blooming by now. This week the buds are still slammed shut.
Maple flowers blooming on 17 Feb 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)Maple buds slammed shut on 18 Feb 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
The Tulip Garden: 2024 vs 2025
Last year the tulip leaves were standing tall. This year they emerged and stopped.
Tulip leaves standing tall a year ago, 7 Feb 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)Tulip leaves emerged and paused, 18 Feb 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
The Crocus Lawn: 2023 vs 2025
Two years ago this lawn on Neville Street was carpeted in blooming crocuses. This week it’s covered in snow.
The crocus lawn on 21 Feb 2023 (photo by Kate St. John)
Yesterday that lawn looked like this.
The crocus lawn on 18 Feb 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
And here’s an interesting juxtaposition …
High water comes and goes: 2018 vs 2025
The Monongahela River at Duck Hollow flooded the parking lot seven years ago. This month the highest reach was well below the parking lot.
Monongahela River flood at Duck Hollow, 17 Feb 2018 (photo by John English)Monongahela River highest water in February 2025 (so far), 3 Feb 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
This map shows why we’re confused by this news. While most of the world and everything north of us was extra hot, the Continental US was unusually cold in January 2025.
Early morning sun and fog at Duck Hollow, 25 November 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
7 December 2024
This week the city received a light dusting of snow but the ground was not as beautiful as the sky. Two examples: Fog and sun at Duck Hollow before Thanksgiving, and a very red sunrise on 4 December.
Sunrise in Pittsburgh, 4 December 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
What is this? An arrangement of black carbon.
Faulty oven creates black carbon, November 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
These were the unexpected result of a faulty oven thermostat that carbonized the Thanksgiving biscuits. Fortunately that carbon is only skin deep. My niece cut off the bottoms. The tops were yummy.
