Mt. Pleasant Farm in May 2017

The Howard County Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant Farm was a busy place in May: many field trips from elementary and middle schools and the flurry of construction on the education center expansion…trying to finish by the end of the month. There were the usual spring sights around the farm house: black walnuts leafing out and blooming,

Dogwoods in flower (this pink one is and near the rain garden).

And peonies.

The perimeter around the construction is mostly off limits – but the new sign in up.

Last week I took a walk out to the community garden to meet the buses for a 2^nd grade field trip and enjoyed the time before the other volunteers walked out doing some photography. There was plenty to see: dandelions gone to seed,

Water droplets in the grass,

Seeds of grasses and

Sturdy wild flowers in the areas no mowed recently.

The winds have broken some of the ties that held the fencing mesh around the community garden; I noticed it as I photographed goldfinches

And tree swallows. The tree swallows were in a nesting box near where the buses were going to unload. It sounded like there were already nestlings!