End of March

When I opened my patio door early this morning to let the dogs out, I couldn't believe it, but I really smelled S p r i n g. Oh my gosh, what a feeling! What a smell! And I am not talking about the smell of freshly cut grass - I am talking about that strong perfume smell in the air coming from the blooms of wild plums and black locust trees. This must be my favorite smell in the whole wide world. It is the smell of rebirth, of new beginnings, of new hope. Winter is finally over!
Yesterday I searched our nature walk for signs of spring and found such beauty. The first spring beauties are blooming, the wild plums are starting to bloom. I found lots of bluets, some wild lettuce, lots and lots of stork's bill that seems to have invaded the yard around the house. The first shy blooms of shepherd's purse are up. And, of course, the henbits are blooming everywhere.
I also visited my barrel cacti colony and couldn't believe my eyes. They all mutated and don't look like barrels anymore. I suspect that drought and heat is causing the mutations. I am curious if they do bloom in a month or so. Or has the drought affected their blooming? I guess, I will have to wait and see.

This year I have dedicated to learning all I can about wild flowers and edible wild herbs. So, I have been busy learning the common names as well as the botanical names and the German names, their edibility and medicinal uses, and I am trying to collect all the legends that accompany the plants. I found an Oklahoma wildcrafting group on Facebook that I joined and I was able to attend one of their nature walks in Coyle a week ago. What an inspiration! It was a day full of learning and meeting fascinating people. I am already signed up for more walks and can't wait to be up there again. 
I will start having my own nature walks on our trail starting in April. Hopefully, we can have at least one walk per month for the rest of the year. I welcome everybody who is interested to come and walk with us and if we all pool our knowledge, we can learn a whole lot about the beautiful nature around us. The walks will be followed by the usual German afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen. Can't live without my German Sunday afternoon ritual of Kaffee und Kuchen :)

Greeting from Oklahoma,

Ingrid

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