One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of March thaw, is the Spring. – Aldo Leopold
Early spring is a season of small flowers, of course, and one Spring Beauty or one Violet is of no consequence…
but a carpet of them, sneaking up through the blanket of last year’s leaves or the first green grass where the sun beckons…
that’s the Spring!
*the Violet is Viola brittoniana,a South Jersey specialty.
This pretty little creeping plant is found only in the pine barrens of New Jersey and North Carolina; it creeps like a vine, looks like a moss and flowers like an herb, but is really a shrub; that is, its stems are woody. It forms small evergreen mats resembling mossy cushions and blooms in early Spring.
The name, shortened to Pyxie, delightfully suggests the fairy folk to whom the name belongs. Smiling upward from the sandy soil in the April sunshine, this tiny plant wields an incredible charm; especially so because I went out today not expecting to find much of note. As is so often the case with the Pine Barrens, I was pleasantly rewarded!
Botanical info from Our Early Wildflowers by Harriet Keeler, 1916 and Wildflowers of the Pine Barrens of NJ by Howard Boyd, 2001
to a moonlit September beach
crab traps, fishing poles and the little compartments of a tackle box
to wildflower-strewn hillsides in W. Virginia
toasting marshmallows on a stick and waiting for the whippoorwills to call
to the smooth path of a wake behind the boat
night walks with Luka, the warm lights of other people’s lives as we pass outside
to the first breath of salty air coming home over the bridge
the enchanted fairy-tale scent of beach plum in the dunes
to the places and people that don’t change
the rumbling happy tone of your voice
to lingering can’t-say-goodbye sunsets
the echoes of footsteps, no words between us
to winnowing snipe, pasture horses and more ticks than I’ve had on me in my life in N. Dakota
the stars and darkness gathered all around us, mixed with the sound of the ocean
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Where does your mind wander to?
We said goodbye to our student-intern today… Brian is working on his MSW at the school where I did my graduate work and has been with us since September for his first “field experience”.
Mainly he worked with Mo, who was responsible for supervising him, but the rest of us had the chance to work with him in the office or on field days… a great guy, but sooo young!
He did a couple home visits with me when my coworkers insisted I have an escort in the bad neighborhoods I visit… we both laughed at the silliness of that, but it was nice to see this shy and soft-spoken guy come into his own with clients. I let him do the work of the visit, be it interviewing the client or negotiating repairs with a landlord, very curious to see if his timidity and lack of confidence would come across so obviously with others…
It didn’t! He did really well I think and seemed serious and aloof, instead. There was a good lesson for me in that experience because I often tend to be uncomfortable with playing particular roles in my job; with landlords especially. Rather than laughing and “making nice” like I’m inclined to do in an uncomfortable situation, I could see the benefit of not saying much and just letting the client or landlord squirm and wonder…
😉
Field experience is so very important in many professions… social work, teaching, nursing. Those of us inclined to that type of work are idealists and dreamers, I think, and the realities of the work can hit hard if you’re not prepared for it this way.
Anyway, we sent Brian off with our best wishes and a day filled with food… a spread for breakfast and lunch and finally dessert with cake and ice-cream. We’ll miss him!
Any guesses?
The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size. ~Gertrude S. Wister
Anything fun for you lately?
*If someone can help on the snake, I’d appreciate it… it tried very hard to convince silly me that it was a fierce rattlesnake, using its tail to rattle the dried leaves (and the worried man standing behind me.)
😉
