Teaching this morning prevented me from taking our dogs on their morning sojourn in the woods. But, when I leave the house on Friday mornings, my last words to them are always: "Hang in there; we'll go for a walk this afternoon." And, not surprisingly, they look at me in a way that says: "Promise?" I have no doubt that they understand this now traditional transaction.
So, after some soaking rain, some sleet, some gale-force winds that even snatched new leaves off their stems on the poplar trees, finally it is sunny and warm today. I knew that it would mean that the black flies were out....and I wasn't wrong. But neither were they at full maddening strength...merely annoying. I did NOT know, however, that the Trillium would be out. We have the variety known formally as, "Trillium erectum", and while white flowered blooms will be along soon, all the ones I saw today were purple. This is almost always the first wild flower to be seen each spring around these parts. It has some curious names: Wake-Robin, Stinking Benjamin, Birth root, Beth root, and a few more. It is also said to have astringent properties that make it useful in treating diarrhea and bleeding, but, I have no personal experience of this and so cannot vouch for it.
I can, however, tell you that my heart leaps when I see first one, then another, then realize that there are dozens and dozens scattered all across the forest floor.
No comments:
Post a Comment