Treasure Outside

It may seem that I am playing hookey a lot lately. It feels that way, and in between the mail prep, the work on the balm recipe book, and the everyday yard work and laundry - YES! Spring calls. For various reasons, the past few springs have slipped through my fingers, and this one will not get away without being fully enjoyed.
Within a few weeks, the forest floor will revert to hiding beneath the brambles and the poke weed and all the multiflora rose bushes. It is a very brief period of time that we can enjoy the springtime jewels laid before us, and so eventually I will go back to writing about what you can do with herbs - but for now, it is all about enjoying the spring.
The paths through the woods are breathtaking in their brilliant jade and chartreuse shades. As we walk, the birds sing, and blue jays and cardinals call out, along with the chickadees, starlings, blackbirds, and mockingbirds. Doves scatter as we approach, and woodpeckers are busy drumming on hollow logs, looking for insects. Walking along it feels as if life itself is pulsating all around us so much that we are also rejuvenated.
The jewelweed is so rampant that it clings to anything that stands out above the water level in the creek, sprouting right there. In summer, it will grow right up in the center of the stream. The Jack-in-the-pulpit stands tall and proud, with his hood barely dipping. A trout lily stands guard to the right.
Most of ours here is deeply striped with burgandy, especially the stalks - but not all of it. It is a beautiful plant.The various trilliums that we've transplanted are just beginning to bloom, while the ones we visited the other day were starting to fade.
The red ones we planted across the creek haven't started to open yet.
The variegated solomon's seal has unfurled his leaves, but has yet to bloom. I love to see the drooping creamy drops along the stems. We also have fields of false solomon's seal, and they will bloom with creamy tufts soon.
The dogwoods are out in force, beautiful against the sunlight.As we leave the woods we walk very slowly, dawdling by the pond, trying to stay just a little bit longer. Spring is such a gift.