Late Spring & Beltane

CONNECTING WITH LATE SPRING (early May)

Edible ostrich fern.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit just beginning to emerge.

Wild ginger before the leaves unfurl.

Spring is an ache.
Buds swell on their branches. Bulbs cannot stay in their casing. There is the breaking out of one state into another. This is true inner development as well. We are both the ones giving birth and the birthed. We are incredibly vulnerable, beautiful, dependent, dynamic, needy, and bursting at the seams. The Spring of the soul hums and aches. Birthing is full of pain, full of fear, full of exquisite excitement. It must be carefully attended. It must also be left well enough alone. Whatever has the dynamism to develop cannot be stopped.
It will grow.
It will grow.

- Gunilla Norris
A Mystic Garden: Working with Soil, Attending to Soul

Spring Thoughts from Theresa:

Spring is an ache... for me it's an almost desperate yearning to get outside and be part of what is happening. The broad strokes of Spring's awakening may seem slow- it takes a while for the world to turn green again- but if you follow the small details, it happens quickly. I must walk the yard every day so I don't miss the plants pushing out of the softened and warmed ground, unfurling their stems and leaves in what can look like a torturous, slow-motion dance to spread out and drink in the blessings of the warming Sun.

Mayapples emerging, May 3, 2014.

Mayapples, May 10, 2014.

Native baneberry unfurling, May 3, 2014.

Bear says: "Spring comes fast when you ain't lookin."

Baneberry, May 9, 2014.

Spring is an ache for life to return to the Earth...

Color returns to the garden...

Baltimore orioles love grape jelly.

The male goldfinches we fed all Winter turn bright yellow and will continue to crowd our bird feeders for a little while longer. The orange Baltimore orioles return for the Summer and we are sometimes blessed with brief glimpses of the electric blue indigo bunting.

Each week is painted by different flowers...

Native bloodroot opening, Spring 2009.

Primrose, May 10, 2014.

Wild trillium, May 10, 2014.

Pasque flower, May 9, 2014.

Sound returns to the Earth...

The wrens are back to raise another family in our yard.
Their wonderfully joyous song, incongruously belted out by their small, squat brown bodies,
fills the yard and cheers me every time I hear it.

Wren guarding its nest.

Wren on top of nesting box.

Many birds raise families in our yard and bless us with their songs.
If you'd like to help them build their nests, see information on providing nesting materials for birds
on the National Wildlife Federation page at:
http://blog.nwf.org/2014/04/how-to-offer-bird-nesting-materials-in-your-garden/

Smell returns to the Earth...

Instead of cold that stings your nostrils, smell the first dandelion as it softly tickles your nose, remember again the odor of creeping charlie, realize it's time for Spring clean up when the bird seed that has accumulated under the feeders all Winter unthaws and begins to rot. Enjoy again that amazing smell after a gentle, cleansing rain...

Dandelions- beautiful and edible- they mimic the blaze of the returning Spring Sun and are only with us for a few short weeks.

Touch returns to the Earth...

Feel the soft hairs on a pasque flower,
the first warm breezes on your skin,
the loose dirt as you plant seeds...

Soft and fuzzy pasque flowers.

The altar I put up for the warm months- reminding me that I should "Come into the Garden," where Nature's altar is more beautiful than anything I create inside.

Path seeded with white clover.

My senses awaken after a sleepy Winter
and my focus shifts outside.

Now I go into the gardens to connect- I don't want books or music to help me celebrate the season. I just go outside and use all my senses to pay attention to whatever is happening. Nature becomes my altar and She is more beautiful than anything I can create indoors. I am thankful to learn again from Her wisdom, to let Her relieve my longings, and nourish all my senses.

Behold, my friends, the Spring is come;
the Earth has gladly received
the embraces of the Sun,
and we shall soon see the results
of their love!

- Sitting Bull

SPRING WEED PASTA

Spring greens: nettles on left, spring garlic across top, garlic chives lower right. The chickweed was not up yet.

Chopped spring greens.

Finished spring weed pasta.

Taste returns to the Earth...

In early Spring, Nature gifts us with many nutritional plants that are known as Spring tonics- they provide us with lots of vitamins to energize our bodies after eating mostly preserved foods all Winter. These plants are unfortunately now considered to be weeds by most people, but some of us know better, and our bodies start to crave their rich greenness while we wait eagerly for them to pop out of the ground. In our yard, these early Spring "weeds" include nettles and chickweed. They are great over pasta.

To make Spring Weed Pasta:

Gather the weeds, clean if needed, and chop. If possible, you'll want a lot more weeds than are showing in the photos to the left, so you can taste their wonderful flavors better. (We didn't have enough growing yet.)
Boil water and cook the pasta.
When the pasta is done to your liking, drain.
Pour the still very hot water over the weeds instead of down the sink, to slightly cook them (this also removes the sting from the nettles).
Drain and mix the weeds into the pasta along with butter or olive oil.
Add lots of freshly grated black pepper and some parmesan cheese.
Wild ramps, aka wild garlic, also make a great Spring pasta. They are often one of the first greens available at Spring farmer's markets.

Safety precautions:

Note that you shouldn't eat any "weed" unless you are sure of its identification. Some plants have poisonous look-a-likes.
Nettles, of course, will sting you if you don't pay attention to them. I harvest them by cutting the leaves with a pair of scissors and letting them drop into a bowl I'm holding underneath. Don't forget to give thanks to the nettle patch. If you appreciate nettle, she is less likely to sting you.