Ah, Spring
Ah, spring.
Approaching the equinox on March 20, I find myself busy sowing seeds, preparing the garden and tuning the bike for increased mileage during the warmer months. Migratory songbirds like the Ruby crowned kinglet are filling up their bellies for their coming northward journey, as are the Snow geese and other migratory, avian friends.
This season I’ve mounted a bat house, hopeful a colony of Evening bats will roost and help control July’s burgeoning mosquito population. We’ve got some real blood suckers here in the Mississippi Delta and can use all the help we can get.
The azaleas are already blooming, and it will soon be consistently warm enough for me to transplant my seedlings into outdoor containers. This year, I’m planting four tomato species, various herbs, veggies and sunflowers. Might give corn a try, as well.
Spring equinox is one of my favorite seasonal celebrations. It marks the point where day and night are equal, just before the balance shifts to light. The seeds that have slept in darkness and now spring forth in light and warmth, bringing with them their bounty from Mother Earth. And in March we celebrate my favorite of the mother goddesses (fiction of course, but fun) Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, lust, beauty and sexuality.
What’s there not to like about March?
March is also great month for backpacking. Last weekend, I loaded my pack and took my youngest son with me for a weekend at Virgin Falls,
a once lovely spot that’s now being trampled to death by hikers like myself. Some practice Leave No Trace principles while others treat the wilderness just like they do a city street.
There were certainly some wonderful moments, but overall, there were too many people. I go to the wilderness to get away from humans, but I recall counting over twenty five camping in and around the falls. Screaming, shouting, electronic devices. What on earth are these people thinking?
Apparently nothing. Must have left their brains at home.
Despite the humans and the trash, there was much to see that was worthwhile. Emerging wildflowers like the endangered and rare Trailing Trillium (Trillium decumbens) and of course the falls itself, a 150 foot wall of water that emerges from a cave and then disappears into second cave.
Some folks are spending this spring killing other people and non-people. Dropping bombs. Building wealth. Buying new SUV’s. Planning new developments. Snow skiing around towns locals can’t afford to live in and lynx can’t live in. Chopping down trees and putting their gold bank vaults. Assholes. Fuck ‘em all.
I can’t wait for oil to hit $125 per barrel and for the insanity to finally end.
I’m going backpacking, celebrating solar festivals, planting seeds and cycling.
I’m celebrating spring.
Light.
Life.
Simple pleasures and simple things.