When this bush blooms…

it means it is time for something wonderful to be going on….See the little white blossoms?
I’ll give you a hint….
This is called shad bush….and I’ll write more about what it signifies tomorrow.

This spring we have had such good weather that the shad bush was not the first blooming wild bush, which it often is. Most years it is the first sign of life along the ponds and streams and in the yore of old it meant something very special….do you know what it was and still is?

The Shadbush is Blooming!

Almost every day a new sign of spring is bursting forth here on Cape Cod and this weekend the shadbush began to bloom almost everywhere. Shadbush is found mostly in fresh water wetland areas but can also be found around the edges of salt marshes in our area.

The bush is called this because it bloomed right at the same time another natural phenomenon happened in the spring and the Native Americans knew it to be a sign it was time to gather their gear for a special harvest after a long cold winter. A certain animal called a shad “runs” at this time of year. Do you know what kind of animal that is?
This shadbush was found at Hathaway’s Pond in Hyannis but is in bloom Cape wide at this time.