Violets in the Woods

I went out early yesterday morning and weeded the peas and prepared a bed for the broccoli seedlings. The corn and cowpeas continue to look good under their hoops. I am tempted to remove the hoops over the corn as I don’t see any frost-level low temps in the forecast for the next couple of weeks. Waiting until Memorial Day is considered safest, but we had 3” of snow on June 10 one year so it’s a gamble no matter how you look at it.

I startled a turkey by the grape vines. It ran out from the tall grass and flew away. We had a mama turkey nesting back there one year, but I looked and didn’t see anything. If there is a nest, it may be well hidden.

Our morning board meeting session ran from 10-noon. I set the laptop up on the counter in the kitchen and cut up a ham during the first part of the meeting, then got a chair and my knitting and knitted for the second part. Everyone is used to seeing me working on something. I either knit or bind quilts. I simply cannot sit still and listen unless my hands are occupied with a project.

Our board is comprised of members from congregations in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. We usually meet in Oregon, where the denominational office is, but had planned to have this meeting here in Kalispell. Unfortunately, the pandemic changed those plans. I have enjoyed my four years on this board and even though we’re all Zoom-savvy by now, meeting via video conferencing is nothing like being able to visit in person.

Our Executive Conference Minister noted during the meeting that the denomination is warning congregations that we may not be able to engage in congregational singing for the foreseeable future. Singing together has been identified as a potential “superspreader” event. I said to the husband that telling Mennonites they cannot sing together is like telling a fish it can no longer live in water. The whole concept makes me very sad.

We had a two-hour break between the morning and afternoon sessions, so I went out and cut grass in the front yard. The husband was busy all day cutting up and clearing the downed trees in the woods. I think we lost two dozen trees out there in that March windstorm, and not small ones, either. This will be an ongoing project. All the brush has to be piled up and the logs stacked.

There are violets all over the property. Yellow ones:

And purple ones:

People have been commenting that there are fewer trilliums this spring. I don’t see any in our woods in the usual places, either. I wonder why that is.

Elysian’s 6 year-old son came over to get eggs while I was cutting grass. They keep a small fridge on the corner of their property—which is right at the entrance to the state land hiking area—and sell eggs and veggies out of it. They do a brisk business. When they run out of their own eggs, we sell them our eggs at wholesale. Elysian’s son is quite the entrepreneur, even at such a young age, and this has been a great opportunity for him to learn math and basic economic principles.

I worked on the front yard again after dinner, but I’ll have to finish it today. I also want to get those broccoli seedlings in the ground and put the zucchini out under a hoop. Lots to do while the sun is shining.