Spring Wanderings while Sheltering in Place



White Trout Lily

We haven’t even made it to the halfway point of 2020, and it’s already been an interesting year!  We’ve all adjusted our lifestyles, whether it’s our family lives, social lives, work schedules, home schooling, shopping habits, and just about everything else in our daily lives. In addition to major events being postponed or even cancelled, businesses have struggled, jobs lost or intensified, going without our favorite products, and a host of other changes. Many people are having a tough time dealing with all these issues.

My family is lucky to continue to work, even if our work environment may be our dining room table a day or two a week, and when at the office, we must practice social distancing with the other skeleton crew members. As I write this, the Sheltering in Place is in effect until the end of May, most likely with social distancing practices to be practiced, even after some restrictions are lifted. I don’t wish to make light of what anyone is going through, but in my family’s case, we are trying to make the most of the situation.

Bluebells

One positive outcome from all this, is that more people, my daughters included, are exercising outdoors. We live in an older residential neighborhood not far from a city park, so we see a lot of foot and bike traffic. While walking the dogs in nearby neighborhoods, I also notice more people hanging out on their porches and patios or just puttering around their yards. It’s great to see everyone out and about.

One thing I’ve had more time to do is one of my favorite springtime activities—walking in the woods. I’m fortunate to live a few miles away from a public, but usually pretty private, natural area. Once or twice a week, we load up the dogs and my camera to take a short hike in the woods. Even though I already have hundreds of wildflower photos, I can never resist adding more to my collection. This year I even photographed a new type of trillium, Snow Trillium, I’ve never seen before, and also snapped dozens of photos of some of my standard favorites like Hepatica, White Trout Lily, Dutchman’s Breeches, Purple Trillium, Marsh Marigold, Blood Root, Bluebells, Jack-in-the-pulpit, and many more. I hope to sneak another trip to the woods into this weekend’s plans.

Mayapple

Experiencing this pandemic has taught us many things, but one of the most important is to make the most out of this simpler time by taking more time to smell and enjoy the flowers.