Warm Days
Is it in poor taste for
me to long for the warmth of summer—when the bite of winter yet surrounds and
reminds us of all the beauty in our current sparkling snowscape? I wouldn't
wish to live anywhere but the Northwoods with our four exceptional seasons, but
on some days I do wish it were a different time of year than it is now.
One particular dream
that'll have to wait until summer is collecting more plants for our herbarium.
Collections volunteers have ramped up those efforts over the past two seasons,
and will likely be at it again as soon as new growth begins to appear—as early as
April.
It has become a
great treat to take a look at the flattened flora brought in for our
collection. Some of the plants are as common as the wild strawberries I dodge
with bare feet as I walk laundry to be hung in my back yard. Other plants are
less common in my own warm weather outings, like bladderworts, who I might only
encounter on occasion when I sink my once again bare feet into the floating,
wet substrate of a bog.
