“As doom and gloom pervade our lives it’s difficult to feel freshness. Yet, nature shows us that just as one thing dies off, another appears. Our path need not be wearisome if we open our eyes in expectation to the new rather than the old.” – Ed Lehming

Such was my experience today, as I returned to my beloved trails. It’s nearing the end of April, the world is locked in a battle with a pandemic and much of the news is less than positive. The forest is my source of energy and I have missed it so much through this uncertainty.

My expectations as I set out was that I would see a few of the early blooming spring ephemerals. At first not much was visible but I soon noticed some trilliums starting to emerge, some even had traces of flower buds, but it will be a while before they actually bloom. I was hoping to see a few Bloodroot by this time of year, but most were still tightly bundled up.

As my hike progressed I started noticing a few Spring Beauties blooming among the patches of Trout Lily leaves. The Trout Lilies will also be a while before they blossom. I figured that was the best I could hope for, as it has been rather cool this spring and being home I have fallen out of sync with the timing of the spring blooms.

Then, as I resigned to this rather scant showing of blossoms, I saw a splash of white against an old log and could not believe the that I was seeing a Hepatica (Sharp-Leafed Liverwort) blooming this early, and more advanced than other plants that generally bloom a few days before them.

The bright, fresh white against the rotting log brought me back to my recent mood, looking desperately for some brightness to see me through these times. This beautiful flower was just what I needed, but I would not have seen it had I not been actively looking for it. So, I will head into the next few days with the same philosophy of keeping my eyes and ears open to beauty and freshness.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/25 sec, f/20.0, ISO 400

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