Weekend Wanders
April - Photo Essay
This weekend was all about the outdoors. First, a walk at Bayard Cutting Arboretum, located in Great River. The Connetquot River runs along the shores of the arboretum, Osprey return to two nests, one atop a chimny at the manor house and another atop a tall pine near the holly garden. It’s a beautiful time to visit, even better to have a nature connection.
We began at the Yew portal. I’ve written about the Yews before. Spiritually, they hold longevity and immortality, both death and rebirth, protection from evil, which is why they are often planted in churchyards and gravesites, and they represent the Crone in the Goddess Trinity. They’re known to live over 3,000 years, sprouting new growth from their roots. All of the tree is toxic except for the red berries … the small black seed inside being the most toxic to humans. Yet, there’s a cancer cure deep inside its shaggy bark. As a member of the Taxus family, Taxol has been made. One of the forest bathers attested that it was part of her chemo regime and she felt affirmed in her recovery.
The Four Seasons Garden invitation was to notice all the seasons. Most of Winter was gone, mostly Spring was present. My favorite plant, the Paperbush, was in full bloom and so fragrant.
Some of the fuzzy ‘mouse toes’ were still present, and mostly, it was blooming profusely, it’s amazing scent evident in the air, a bit like gardenia and spicier. Here are the mouse toes from earlier this year:
Blooms were everywhere, and that’s always an invitation to stop, notice, use our olfactory senses as well as touch and sight. Siberian squill (Scilla siberica), the tiny blue flowers at the base of a London Plane tree, Dogwood and Magnolia trees, and the beginning blooms on this Taxus, or Yew.
That was Saturday. Sunday, I had a personal wander in Nature with my son and his girlfriend. Carrying our cameras, we looked like a National Geographic team!
My photos were less than spectacular and I’ll share them anyway, because they hold a special memory of my time with family. Glossy Ibis, Garter Snake, Swan and Snowy Egret, Bald Eagle and Fish Crow, Pine Warbler and Juvenile Bald Eagle.
Overall, it was an amazing weekend. I ignored laundry and other household chores. I’m mostly not working this week, so there’s time for all those things.
I’m preparing for next weekend’s walks:
Saturday, April 18th at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge
Sunday, April 19th at Sands Point Preserve.
You can find the Wertheim walk here with the QR code:
The Sands Point Preserve walk may be found here: https://www.sandspointpreserveconservancy.org/single-events/ecotherapy/
I hope this week brings lots of love, light and awe,
Linda
Lovely post!! I adore going to arboretums, they always calm me down and make me happy. There are two really nice arboretums I've been to, one in Cluj in Romania, and one in Sárvár, Hungary. If you ever come to this part of the world, I recommend you check them out!