Poke

Poke

 

 

 

 

I’m so thankful to see Spring come around.  I’ve tried not to complain about the cold because I was so tired of the hot weather we had last year from May til October.  There is still a chill in the air, but the flowers are budding, some are

 

 

Violet Syrup

Violet Syrup

blooming like the hardy little Daffodils and Star of Bethlehem.  The Plantain is greening up and so is the Chickweed. It won’t be long til I can start gathering weeds and herbs and making new salves and tinctures. The pretty little violets will be poking their heads out soon and so will the dandelions. The poke won’t be far behind in fact it might come up first. I gather poke for about 4 weeks in the spring, blanch it and freeze it. Some of it I cook fresh and eat with cornbread.

As I wander through my little yard I am once again amazed at all the herbs and weeds God has given us to cure our ailments and bring health to our bodies.  Because my yard is a great place to find all kinds of edible and medicinal weeds, I don’t use chemical fertilizer or herbicides. I don’t use chemicals at all on the yard because I want the herbs to be as fresh and clean as possible.

robin 2

American Robin

The songbirds are back with Spring as well. They have been singing and chirping happily for days, really. I’ll really be happy to see and hear the Robin again. I was a grown woman before I really paid much attention to the Robin’s song. Its lilting and lovely. On summer afternoon I was outside and heard the most beautiful bird song. I searched with my eyes until I saw a robin some 50 yards away perched on a fence post, singing his heart out. There was no other sound except the grass and trees rustling in the wind and I listened to that song until the bird was finished. I don’t know how long I stood there, just wrapped up in the music of that little bird. Ever since, I have loved the Robin’s song and looked forward to it every year. I have a friend who says that Spring isn’t truly here until the Robins make their appearance.

Spring tends to say, “Hurry Up!” but my mind and body say, “Slow Down.”  I’ve been on a quest to slow down for some years and looking back, I can tell that I really have slowed down. Not that I don’t have my frantic, hurried moments when some project or article is due somewhere, but my life in general has slowed way down. I think that’s good. I can now enjoy a slow walk through the yard to hunt for all the new little buds and green things without rushing off somewhere to do something unnecessary and un-fulfilling. Life gets busy planting and cultivating, tending and harvesting but I have learned to wait with nature for everything to unfold.