Dreaming of Spring
About savoring fleeting moments and the observant eye
“We were all born with a certain capacity for awe and wonder. The role of the naturalist is to revive and nourish that capacity – to restore the natural balance.” ~ Edwin Way Teale
Thank you for reading along with me these first weeks on Substack! I appreciate and welcome new subscribers, as well as your hearts and comments, and look forward to learning more about how nature sparks your curiosity.
Next week, I’m excited to share more about the importance and value of the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count 2024. If you visit the global event website, you may sign up for a webinar on Feb. 13th to learn more about participating. Or, take a look back at how bird watchers lit up the map in 2023 with their sightings. The site does a great job explaining how to participate. I hope to convey why it matters so much by sharing my own story of birdwatching and species documentation.
This week, as Spring starts to tease us with her warmth and promise of shooting stars (top right photo), I find it difficult to remain present in February. It’s so tempting to will time to speed faster toward the vibrant green that bursts forth with new buds and the tiny shoots of trillium and mayapples that line my favorite trails. Just like the ‘looking forward’ that comes with a trip to visit people you love. The days between the now and the then seem endless, while the time together is like a bloom — here and gone in mere moments. Yet, who are we without those moments?
The Forest is Stirring
The forest is stirring. Can you smell it? The leaf litter left behind from fall has done its winter work. Brilliant hues have faded. Remnant nutrients served their last purpose, seep into the damp soil, feed new life.
Under a blanket of morning dew, the earth exhales and fills your nose. Delicious enough to scoop up in your hands and splash on your face.
Down in the hollow, past a stand of hemlocks that line the creek, a poplar fell last summer. Under the bright rays of an ordinary July day, a weakness in its trunk gave way under a brisk wind. It lay for one season and half of another, fading. Its lush foliage withering.
Step off the trail. Run your hand along the vibrant blanket of moss that fills the crevices of the fallen poplar. A snag of its bark extends itself to an infant hemlock striving toward the sun. A family of squirrels picnic on the broken stump left behind. Lichen and turkey tail thrive along the damp bark.
The forest is stirring…everything continues.
"All this is perfectly distinct to an observant eye, and yet could easily pass unnoticed by most." ~ Henry David Thoreau
Dreaming of Spring
Inspired by ‘When I Am Among The Trees’ by Mary Oliver
It is quite fine to live among the beech and the white oak the pine and the maple these days while a violent discontent rattles in the distance disturbing my senses and jarring my sleep with wild dreams and cold sweat Here, in the woods tucked away in a spring-fed hollow I nestle in a simple place Each day, I watch and listen I watch the bobbing rump of the palm warbler within the clover, the male house finch feeding fledglings as they grapple with fresh awkward wings I listen to the late-day ee-oh-lay of the wood thrush somewhere off in the branches, and hope the barred owl couple call during their nightly hunt The eastern bluebirds laid five eggs, their first clutch of the season, tiffany-blue promises each one hatched in its time – one a day later than the rest They should have fledged last Wednesday or Thursday, certainly Friday at the latest but each morning, no calls from the trees just worms and grubs delivered by patient parents Did the parents keep them in the nest to protect them against the cold? Did they want the smallest to gain more strength? Sunday morning there were no answers simply a well-loved empty nest and new songs high among the leaves
Currently Reading
While I have chosen to immerse myself in the reading of Edwin Way Teale’s four volumes of seasons, as I described two weeks ago, there’s one volume that highlights them all in one: The American Seasons.
From the inside cover: “Reading Mr. Teale, I find myself wishing I could communicate to other Americans how much this one man’s observation arouses and delectifies our appreciation of this country. Time, the merciless changer, destroys so rapidly; this is our heritage, and there is so little time to know.” ~Mr. Edward Weeks from the Atlantic Monthly
This is a perfect bedside reader for anyone who loves naturalist writing and would like to get more familiar with Teale’s work!
Just four minutes…
…actually just one this week.
Enjoy Mary Oliver reading her poem “When I Am Among The Trees”
Journaling prompt…
Write for five minutes about your favorite season…why is it your favorite?
Or, try the same exercise with your least favorite season.
See where it leads you…
If you enjoyed this week’s edition of “A Curious Nature”, I hope you may choose to subscribe, drop your thoughts below, or share with a friend. Thank you!
Your post is a treasure chest.