The snowbanks melted away in the soft rains, and after plenty of raking, the yard is finally in shades of green rather than brown.  We don’t have a big yard, and most of it is lawn, but I’ve noticed a few herbs to get acquainted with. I dug a few dozen dandelion roots on a sunny day last week, and will continue to dig roots until they start to bloom. My mom doesn’t want them in the lawn – so it’s a win-win. The dandelions will prevail anyway, there is no way I’ll be able to dig them all up! I’ll start collecting greens for eating as soon as they’re large enough too. If I’m lucky, I’ll get lots of blooms and make infused oil!

Dandelion rosette, with yarrow hiding underneath

The herb I’m going to try for tonight’s dinner is a type of cress – winter cress, I believe. I think I’ll boil it first, then cook it up with eggs as a frittata. I found a few patches of sorrel I’ll try later in the week. My mom thinks I’m crazy, but she’s happy to have the “weeds” go. I’ve saved a few patches of St. John’s Wort I found on the fringes of the flower gardens, and some yarrow, and instructed her that native plants are good for pollinators and they are now part of the garden. As long as I can keep everything looking nice, they’ll get to stay.

Some sort of cress, a broccoli relative

St. John’s Wort

I’m also excited to have found both narrow and broad leaf plantain, and many tiny mullein rosettes! The mullein will have to go, sadly, as they are located in the middle of the lawn, but I’ll try to salvage the roots, and let the leaves grow as much as possible before I dig them up! Even our small lawn is a wealth of health ❤

Broad-leaf plantain, yarrow, and white clover

This January I moved across the country from the mountains of Northern California to the frozen north of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It’s not my first time here, my family roots are here, and I spent time each summer as a child visiting my grandma and playing in the lakes. I fed chipmunks and knew a bunch of different fish, but I wasn’t very tuned in to the natural world. During my past three years in California however, I was able to align myself with the seasons and to get to know many different species of plants. I even tried my hand at drying a few herbs and making a couple tinctures. Though I’m thousands of miles to the east, I’m currently not much farther north than I was in California, and due to my former mountain locale, many of the same plants can be found here as well (perhaps different varieties). The trees are smaller, I’m definitely missing the giant oaks I regularly sat under.

Last week when I was cleaning a flower bed and raking leaves, I found a single oak leaf. I hadn’t thought any were near, for lack of acorns in the yard. Upon finding the leaf, I scanned the skyline and voila! I realized that the biggest tree around, across the street a ways off is likely my mighty oak. There is still too much snow for me to comfortably hike over to it, but in a week or two I’m going to go visit him and bring an offering. I feel almost silly for not recognizing him earlier, as I’ve often gazed upon that tree, which rises far above its neighbors. Especially at sunset, this tree (to my east) gets illuminated with a beautiful ruddy light.

There’s so much to be excited about in this springtime, and so much to do!

Happy Beltane! I opened the curtains this morning to a bit of a surprise, instead of birds feeding and tulips blossoming, I find a scene from a different holiday…

A beautiful sight to be certain, but a touch too cold to go frolicking, and dancing around a Maypole could be a bit slippery!

This will probably be the last snow of the year, so the timing does feel pretty good. The bears have been awake for a few weeks by now, the trees have (or had…) buds, the annual bulbs have sprouted up and will bloom soon, and I’ve spotted six new types of birds on the feeders in the past week. This crazy weather is another sign of spring, maybe a certain playfulness of the planet, keeping us on our toes. I’ll watch and enjoy it, with my coffee and oatcakes, and be grateful to be warm and cozy.