A few weeks ago, I started checking on early wildflowers - spring ephemerals - in one of my favorite wild places. I found dainty Hepatica in creamy white, lavender and deep periwinkle in full bloom. Bloodroot with its pure white petals and yellow stamens was just beginning to assert its presence on the forest edge. The jade-green filigreed leaves of Dutchman’s Breeches, a wild relative of Bleeding Heart, waved to me. Toothwort buds were on the verge of unfolding to the early spring world.
Bloodroot and Hepatica
We are on the cusp of an extremely early spring here in Virginia.
The Spring Equinox always feels like the beginning of a new year to me. In fact, a friend told me that it IS the beginning of Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Everything is coming to life, the sap is rising in the trees. We just celebrated Maple Festival in Highland County which lures thousands of visitors with the first taste of spring – sweet, luscious maple syrup, tree sap cooked down into an amber colored, pourable delicacy.
I feel this spring energy in my bones also – I need to get outside and move my body, wander through the fields and woods as plans are taking shape in my mind. I mark up my calendar with events I want to attend, classes and talks I will be giving, and reach out to others for coffee dates.
I am also on the cusp of becoming a book author as I am completing two books I’ve been working on for several years. I have written all my life - personal journals, research papers, psychological assessments, handwritten letters to friends and family. I began dreaming about writing a book decades ago. Finally, I am on the verge of giving life to two books: Seasons of a Wild Life and Native Plant Gardening in the Virginia Highlands (with Keith Carson).
Seasons of a Wild Life is the joyful celebration of my own transformation from city dweller to earth steward. The book closely follows nature’s monthly cycles through the year, tracking animals and wild plants that make their home on our property in the Allegheny Highlands of Virginia. I introduce nature deities and animal symbolism from cultures around the world, the mytho-spiritual stories our ancestors crafted to convey their understanding of nature. I also share practices that help us protect, honor and reconnect with Nature.
How did you and I connect and how did you get on this newsletter?
You gave me your email during one of my nature events, either a forest bathing tour, a class on wild food and medicine foraging, or by downloading a PDF with nature journaling suggestions.
If you want to know more about my foraging classes or forest bathing tours, you can “like” my Emerald Mountain Sanctuary site on Facebook, or follow my blog on the Emerald Mountain Sanctuary website.
This Substack Newsletter is dedicated to my book, Seasons of a Wild Life, and our re-connection to Mother Nature. Here, I will share excerpts from the book, nature journaling prompts and other instigating tidbits to inspire you to follow (or resume) your own nature journey.
Green Blessings,
Annette Naber
PS. If you don't want to receive this newsletter from me, just scroll to the bottom and hit the unsubscribe link.
This is really great, Annette. I like you connection with nature and your mastery of plants names! I have not heard most of the names before.
It's unfortunate I was not able to visit the Emerald Mountain Sanctuary when I was on Virginia in 2017, but who knows, I might be there sometimes!
Keep doing this especially sharing practices that help us protect, honor and reconnect with Nature. You role in
preventing the negative effects of climatee change is massive!