Shades of Pink, Red, and Burgundy

Lenten Rose Blossom
(Helleborus orietalis)



Yesterday was a beautiful day. It started out a little overcast, but by afternoon the sun was shining and the temperature was spring-like. Perfect for a walk in the woods. I drove over to check on the cabin and pay a visit to LaMama. (That's my mama and stepdad, Lamar. I refer to them collectively as LaMama.) The cabin sits on ten acres that adjoin their property on the back. You can walk through the woods, down the hill, across the creek and back up the hill to get from their house to the cabin.

It is one of my favorite things to do in winter and early spring. The walk includes crossing two footbridges that I built in years past to make traversing a couple of spots easier. (A walk with a footbridge is so much better than one without.) The trail meanders past Abigail Falls where the water gurgles from the rocks and plops down into a pool below. When LaMama first bought their property, Mama named this particular landmark Abigail Falls in honor of my niece, Abbie. She was just a little girl at the time; now she's all grown up. Just beyond Abigail Falls is Melvin's Bog, named for my dog Melvin who likes to lie in the thick, cool mud that usually collects there. If there is no mud in Melvin's Bog, then we know we need rain. If there is no water flowing from Abigail Falls, well, that's a serious drought situation. We've had that happen twice that I can remember, but it always comes back when the rain returns.  After crossing Melvin's Bog you will shortly arrive at the hole in the creek where the dogs like to swim. Sonny, my sister's dog, loves it more than any of our current herd. I think we should name it for him: Sonny's Swimming Hole. We'll see if that sticks. Big flat rocks placed at the edge of the swimming hole provide the crossing point for the creek. From there, it's a nice little climb on up to the cabin. A few years back I made a rustic bench from a fallen tree; you can sit here and rest if needed before making that last climb up to the cabin.

Yesterday my sister, Jolyn joined me on the walk from LaMama's to the cabin. Melvin and Sonny were the only dogs in tow. We ambled past all the key landmarks and noted projects that need attention. A newly fallen tree that blocks the path. Some crossing stones that need to be reset at the creek. The list goes on. It's endless, and we don't mind.

When we arrived at the cabin, I discovered a single lenten rose blossom attached to a lanky, unimpressive helleborus orientalis specimen, one that I transplanted just before I sold 110 Lamont Drive. It's been pretty dry the last two summers, but somehow this plant survived and managed to squeeze out a bloom this year. Seems like no time ago that I planted it on the slope of earth between the driveway and the cabin. I can't believe it has been two years already. Time flies. Before I know it, that slope will be covered in shades of pink, red, and burgundy. A late winter blanket of lenten rose. I can see it already, and it is lovely.