May is the month of peak flowering in the southern Willamette Valley. Riparian galleries, oak woodlands and grassy hillsides are awash in a glorious array of nature’s prize beauties. This season is celebrated every year at the Mount Pisgah Arboretum with a spectacular wildflower show. The Wildflower Festival is May 17, as always the first Sunday after Mother’s Day. Music, food and crafts are all available. As part of the festival activities, I will lead a nature walk and give a talk about fringecup, Tellima grandiflora, the Flower of the Year.

Watching the heron rookery develop by the east Delta Ponds has been exciting, as the number of nests expanded from three and a half to seven. Doesn’t seven make this colony a rookery? At any time five or six of the nests are seen actively being tended. Nestlings should be visible soon. Will they fledge unharmed by June? This rookery had been disrupted previously by the depredations of bald eagles.

Discouraging observation: In the past few years the number of abandoned dog poop bags along Delta Pond trails has increased dramatically. There seems to be a new attitude that so long as the poop is bagged, somebody else will collect it. I have always picked up trash; adding poop bags to the task is not pleasant. I continue believing that keeping the paths clean helps deter trashing. Years ago I learned that trash attracts trash and that prompt clean up of a public area reduces long -term policing.