In Pursuit of Wonder

May 7, 2023 

I was back in the woods this evening, my usual haunt – down the pasture lane, past the peninsula of trees, under the fence by the walnut trees. The little red squirrel, Charlie yelled at me again as it always does. I have also seen a doe run out, up the east slope from this spot in the woods several times; I wonder if there is a fawn hiding in there. The brambles are so thick it would be a great hiding spot. It is amazing how much the grass in the pasture lane has grown in the past few days. And the smaller plants in the woods are fully arrayed in their warm season attire – the gooseberries especially caught my attention. Perhaps I will pick a few this year; as kids exploring our family farm, my brothers and I would snack on gooseberries in the summer. The violets are close to blooming, any day now and they will open up. There are a few plants I still can’t identify. 

I paused only momentarily to take in the plants on the edge, and then I weaved my way through the brambles, over rotting logs and others not yet decaying, following my usual path through the sometimes fairly open bottom of the valley. I marveled in the changes and the life unfolding in the woods as I ambled onward. I ducked under the cathedral arch of tree branches. Some ways into the woods, I paused and stooped down, there were purple violets in bloom! The pale purple and deep, dark purple are my favorites. A low hum filled the woods as bumblebees searched for nectar and pollen. I glimpsed one such industrious lady. Every so often, I stopped to cut garlic mustard leaves, preferring the large patches where it was easier to cut a lot in one go – it was slow work. They’re good for you and tasty if you like the strong flavor, and invasive so harvesting it is a win win. At the base of a tree, I noticed something white. At first, I thought it was a mushroom. I drew close and squatted down, it was a broken egg shell. Unfortunately, I couldn’t identify the species – there is so much I desire to learn! 

Pressing on, I took in the amount of moss covered logs lying on the hillsides and the dead standing trees, this seemed like it would be prime habitat for mushrooms. I heard a noise in the underbrush on the eastern slope, looking up I saw two white flags fleeing, the backsides of white-tailed deer. I saw several more violets in bloom. I crossed the ravine in several places, and came upon the spot with the umbrella plants. I had been paging through an edible plants book and found this plant, a happy accident. They are called mayapples. And should only be eaten when the fruit is fully ripe. (I am not sure I will be trying it; if these are the only plants on the farm I want to leave them for the wild animals. They are less umbrella like now as their leaves are fully open and up. I am so excited that I successfully identified something new to me! The ostrich ferns had grown, perhaps the most significant change in the woods – they were barely visible above the ground a few days ago. Now, they are roughly a foot tall or more and nearly fully unfurled – their fiddlehead nearly gone. My Mom had asked me if I had enough to harvest but they grew too fast. The trees are getting greener but still have a ways to go before their leaves are in full. I hadn’t been in the woods for long before I turned back to the house; I just needed even a brief wander into the woods this evening. 

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