Tag: flowers

Fools me, April

Every time! I am so gullible! The spring flowers pop out like these beauties I found while driving along in The New River Gorge National Park over the weekend.

And then one afternoon it is so hot I turn on the AC in my car and boom my mind, body and soul are falling all over themselves to get in summer mode.

And then it freezes and snows, and I walk out the door barefoot, and it feels like my feet just had the bottom layer ripped off them. And my mind, body and sole are confused: WHAT HAPPENED? How do I get my feet unstuck from the ground? I am afraid to move; it hurts! I have to move; it hurts! Where did I put my ski gear?

Anyway, I have learned how to help fix this cruel joke called April. I need some relief from this, and thought you might, too. My recipe for getting back at April (Not you, April; the month of April). All through April you would really get into this type of weekend.

  • MIND: It is tax time, and this weekend, you could use a getaway.
  • BODY: take a stroll on some of the 70 miles of trails, get a massage in the cabin, or soak for too long in the HOT TUB.
  • SOUL: Surrounded by nature and eating really good food in Fayetteville, WV and doing all of the above, the soul knows what to do.

We can only offer this until the 20th, because we are full after that until mid-May, because some folks have figured out just how OSSUM this time of year is here. One group is a Bird Banding Class and the other is the New River Birding and Nature Festival, which has a couple of spots still open.

Choose the package and take ⅓ off— yep, 33% off— because we are about ⅓ of the way into 2016.

Thanks, April. I needed that.

The Robin Snow

Special Guest Post By: Rachel Davis

Around here crocuses and daffodils are among the first spring flowers to emerge and bloom. Neither is native to this land, but both were favorites of the Appalachian residents of long ago including my Grandmother who as a young woman planted them here in her yard. I am sure she watched them as eagerly as I do for the first indication of spring. After they have bloomed, I have learned to watch for the return of the Robins – but even then, winter is not quite finished in Appalachia.

As winter passes and the seasons change, I am reminded of a bit of weather folklore from generations past. Seasonal cold snaps, warm spells, and snow falls have names. The old-timers in the mountains had a number of named snows, including the Robin Snow, the Cabbage Snow, and the Easter Snow.

In the Appalachian Mountains and most of the northeastern U.S. the migrating American Robins return from their wintering grounds in vast flocks, eagerly hunting night crawlers and other favored foods.  Robins return just before spring and are almost immediately followed by snowfall. The snow that falls after the first Robin’s song is the Robin Snow. This year the snow fell two days after the Robins’ return.

In the melting Robin Snow my brother Alan captured the image of this easily recognizable leucistic Robin that has returned to his yard year after year.

As for the crocuses and daffodils, being the first to bloom it is inevitable they will hold each of the spring snows. The delicate looking buds and petals are not as threatened by the snows icy touch as they appear. Although I witness it year after year, snow covered petals continue to be an extraordinary sight.

The sun light melts the snow and warms the earth, waking the pollinators who seek out nectar from the early blooming spring flowers; and to the delight of the Robins the night crawlers surface the saturated soils.

The early flowers have bloomed, the Robins have returned, the Robin Snow has fallen, and the long awaited spring season has finally arrived.

The next two snows to watch for in the Appalachian Mountains are the Cabbage Snow which signals the time to start cabbage seeds, and the wet and clinging Easter Snow which some folks refer to as the Fuzzy Snow.

What early signs of spring do you watch for in your neck of the woods?

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