I have a collection of mini-essays called "A Dream Too Wild", and yesterday's entry was this:

 

 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Journal, 1845.

 

Yes, spring has come to Massachusetts. We have woven the May Pole. The trees are in full flower.

 

 

- Another New England spiritualist, Robert Frost.

 

Have you been as happy as I, to welcome the trees back to life? For the first year since the panicky tree massacre induced by the intrusion of the Asian Longhorn Beetle, the streets of Worcester are lush again. The baby trees planted in the wake of the cull are beginning to reach high and wide, and their leaves are filling the neighborhoods with green again. So many different shades of green. In art, one of the first techniques we learn is the contrast of a color with its opposite number, and my favorite has always been red and green. In spring, so many leaves start out red, and the greens are so various, that every view is an impressionists dream. There are pale greens that are almost yellow, and pale yellows with a hint of peach. There are still, reminders of winter, the dark cool navy greens of the pines and spruce and fir. The glorious reds of the japanese maples sing out.

 

My daughter and I have been studying Wicca lately, although not with any particular dedication. Our interest is marked more by whimsy than effort. But we are interested. I've noticed how many Wiccans garden, especially herbs. And I want to plant an herb garden, really I do. But I love my nature best uncultivated. Our spiritual touchstone is the woods off the Rail Trail in West Boylston. We call them the Frog Woods, and we go frequently, on Sunday mornings before the runners roll out of bed. Going back to the same small stretch of woods season after season, year after year, I feel a kinship with Thoreau and his visits to Walden Pond. I greet particular trees again after the long winter, I have a favorite rock for sitting on. In August I dangle my feet in the river and watch the dragonflies.

 

I am so grateful spring is here. When winter comes back, I'm going to have to hunt long and hard for rituals to make the long dark feel good. But that is many months away. For now, it's time to celebrate nature's bounty!