Social Distancing in the Blue Ridge
Social Distancing in the Blue Ridge
The world has totally changed over the past few months. One of my children contracted Covid and was ill for a very long time and is still not fully recovered. After seeing what he has gone through, I have taken the virus very seriously and have mostly quarantined myself at home, while also taking care of my elderly mother. Socially distancing and wearing masks helps and is in fact critical to not spreading the disease. Yet, strangely, many people can’t be bothered to do these things and think the virus isn’t that bad or is a going away when it is actually increasing in many part of the country, including where I am living. I understand the desire to get out after being ordered to stay home for so long, but doing it safely is the key because the virus often has prolonged health effects even when it doesn’t kill people.
Still, it may be with us and we have to find ways to begin to live our lives again albeit in new ways. I finally ventured out with someone who is not a family member recently. Ann and Takoda and I took a hike in the Blue Ridge on the Trombatore Trail. Most hike on the nearby Bearwallow Mountain Trail, while this trail attracts far fewer people. The summit, at 3780 feet, is a wide pasture where cows used to be kept and still sometimes graze. There was lots of space to spread out and it was wonderful to be in the sunshine and to see the clouds and surrounding mountains.
Red Columbine
It wasn’t just the destination that was beautiful though. Along the 2-1/2 mile trail with lots of ups and downs, we encountered mountain streams and many beautiful flowers including a red columbine. Though it was a bit late in the season for this flower in my region, the higher elevation and sheltered cove provided conditions for it to still flourish. Sometimes, if we protect and shelter ourselves when times are challenging, we too can continue to blossom. Self-care, balancing risks, and thinking with a more long term horizon can help us make better decisions for ourselves and others.
Pink Lady Slipper Center Stage
Even more surprising, we found several pink lady slippers. On my mountain, all the lady slippers lost their blossoms a couple of weeks ago. Normally they bloom between April and June, but it has been getting warmer sooner and the blooms are often done by now. Lady slippers are wild orchids and are mostly found in undisturbed areas, though my neighbor has many on his property. Then again we are encroaching on areas that used to be wild and he is thrilled to share his property with them. Lady slippers can live up to 100 years, so my neighbor’s plants likely began growing long before his land was converted to a yard. If you transplant a lady slipper they die, because they will be separated from the Mycorrhizae that help keep them alive. The fungi act like straws for the lady slipper bringing nutrients and water from the soil until the orchid is old enough to produce its own food. When I first encountered lady slippers, one of the things I most admired about them was their ability to form symbiotic relationships. Now, after experiencing a global pandemic and forced solitude, what I am most drawn to is the way they conserve energy and protect themselves. They may only bloom 10 to 20 times in their lifetime and if conditions aren’t good, they stay underground until conditions are right. Why aren’t people able to exhibit the same wisdom? Is our will to live not as great, or is our social instinct greater than our desire for self-preservation?
Pink Lady Slipper
The lady slippers trick the bees with their bright color, but really there is no nectar inside. The bees have to exit through two small holes and pick up pollen on their backs on the way out. The plants help with cross pollination, but the bees don’t get much out of the arrangement and are very intelligent creatures so they don’t keep returning. Nevertheless, indigenous people, poets, and modern day hikers who happen upon them are always delighted. Their bright color and shape, which is reminiscent of moccasins (there is an Ojiibwe legend about them), makes lady slippers stand out in the brown forests they inhabit.
Galax Urceolata (Beetleweed)
This beautiful Galax plant with its delicate white flowers and heart-shaped leaves was also blooming. In this sheltered landscape beneath tall deciduous trees, we found so many glorious plants still blossoming though the early spring flowers like trilliums weren’t flowering anymore. My friend Ann said every time she has come here, there have been wildflowers and she proclaimed it the perfect trail for me.
Mountain Laurel
I always love the delicate flowers of mountain laurel and await their arrival each summer. There is something so poetic about these delicate white and pink flowers that I decided to do a search to see if any poems had been written about them. I found one by Louisa May Alcott that was quite apropos given the pandemic and how walking in the woods and coming across these flowers is balm for the soul. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Mountain Laurel
My bonnie flower, with truest joy
Thy welcome face I see,
The world grows brighter to my eyes,
And summer comes with thee.
My solitude now finds a friend,
And after each hard day,
I in my mountain garden walk,
To rest, or sing, or pray.
All down the rocky slope is spread
Thy veil of rosy snow,
And in the valley by the brook,
Thy deeper blossoms grow.
The barren wilderness grows fair,
Such beauty dost thou give;
And human eyes and Nature's heart
Rejoice that thou dost live.
Each year I wait thy coming, dear,
Each year I love thee more,
For life grows hard, and much I need
Thy honey for my store.
So, like a hungry bee, I sip
Sweet lessons from thy cup,
And sitting at a flower's feet,
My soul learns to look up.
No laurels shall I ever win,
No splendid blossoms bear,
But gratefully receive and use
God's blessed sun and air;
And, blooming where my lot is cast,
Grow happy and content,
Making some barren spot more fair,
For a humble life well spent.
Wood Anemone or Wind Flower
This delicate plant is both grounded and light and airy. It spreads by rhizomes and carpets the forest floor in some areas, but it also interacts with the element of air as well as it gracefully blows in the wind–hence its other common name the Wind Flower. Its scientific name is anemonoides quiinquefolio, which also has a beautiful ring to it. When I saw it on this hike, I was instantly struck by its purity in the dark forest, which is why I processed the image in black and white. Right now with so much darkness and turmoil, it is so important to not lose sight of the light though it might be manifested in the tiniest of life forms it still persists. This plant is highly poisonous though, so be careful. Perhaps that is what protects it. In very small does, it can be used externally to treat rheumatism.
True Solomon’s Seal
True Solomon’s seal is also dangerous, but it is much more subtle than it’s counterpart the False Solomon’s Seal with its showy white flower. The True Solomon’s seal lily hides its flowers underneath its large waxy leaves that twist into graceful shapes above its arching stem. These flowers turn into bluish-black berries, which are poisonous so beware. The roots however are used medicinally for many things including respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, muscular and skeletal and male and female hormonal issues due to its beneficial rhizomes. Fungi and rhizomes not only have the potential to heal many of the effects of living in the modern day world, they way they function in ecosystems has many lessons to teach us about helping other life forms including the weakest, so the whole forest flourishes.
Boulders Covered in Lichens
The Hickory Nut Gorge was formed by streams and the Broad River and separates the Piedmont from the Blue Ridge. There are huge lichen-covered boulders strewn throughout. I am always drawn to the beauty of boulders in the woods, as they end up in some many interesting formations and are cloaked by colorful lifeforms with interesting shapes. But in reflecting on the boulders now, I expect it must have been quite turbulent when they were all broken off and tossed about or when melting ice caps scraped the caps of neighboring peaks. Now the forest is operating on a new normal, much as we will eventually after the height of the pandemic passes. Yet nothing is ever fixed. Extreme rain events here or forest fires in the west still impact our forests and continually change the landscape. We need to be adaptable as well recognize our impact on the health of both humans and the environment. As the rhizomes teach us, everything is interconnected.
Soft Light in the Forest with Ferns
This transitional nature of this gorge geographically is what makes it ranked as one of the highest for biodiversity in North Carolina. Just to walk along this trail and see so many living things makes me feel better and all the trees are good for the atmosphere too. The not only absorb excess ozone, they absorb gasses such as nitrogen oxides, ammonia and sulfur dioxide. Particulates, which make their way to the Blue Ridge from polluted areas in the midwest are filtered out of the air when they are trapped by leaves and bark. This is one of the many reasons why forests should be preserved.
Moss Covered Fallen Log in a Stream, The Circle of Life
This pure small stream was so beautiful amidst the greenery that flourished from its moisture. The green moss on the broken tree log was stunning. Whenever I see fallen trees cloaked in fungi or moss providing homes for other life forms, I always think of the cycle of life and how new life constantly springs up in places where plants or animals have died. But walking in the woods, I realized that this mostly happens when ecosystems are in a natural state of balance. I’ve walked in Yosemite and been in the Okefenokee Swamp after forest fires decimated these areas. The landscape was not beautiful. It was denuded and smoldering and there was a sickly smell in the air. Though death is a natural part of life, when large tracts of forests are on fire, or when ice bergs melt at an alarming rate, or when pandemics strike, the balance is off due to the hand of man and the outcome is not positive. Will the earth recover in some form? Undoubtedly, but what is happening now on the planet shows us, the human species is not inviolable from the destruction we bring upon the earth.
My friend Ann and Takoda
So what do we do in these challenging times? Instead of roaming in packs and behaving socially irresponsibly, I have chosen to spend time with people whose friendship I value outdoors. I know I am privileged to be able to do this, because I am a self-sufficient artist and not an essential worker. To get some of the social interactions I long for, I call elderly people and others who are living alone as I know we are social creatures and isolation is challenging for our mental health. And I connect with nature, which for me has always been the most healing thing to do, as often as possible, even if it’s in my own backyard. Rather than focusing on what I cannot do, I focus on what I can do and what I have to be grateful for, so that I will be able to worry less about myself and do as many small acts of kindness for others as I can. It is easier when you have a friend like Ann, who is kind, wonderfully perceptive person and writer who is truly there for the people in her life.
I should end by saying I know this life of mine is a luxury and a gift and that it is in large part due to white privilege. I understand the need to protest and stand up to all the injustice on this planet and I am grateful for all who are doing so for their willingness to defend our democracy, especially during these risky times. I have not been able to do this, because I am caring for an elderly person. It is not the best way I can help. However, even if we cannot protest, we can use our voices in other ways by demanding police reform and financially supporting those who are going hungry, or groups working to uphold fair elections, and so many other causes that will help shift our society to become more balanced and equitable, perhaps for the first time in our nation’s history. Now is not the time to feel voiceless. If we speak out together in this country and across the world, true change may come and only through radical change will this planet have any hope for sustainability as we sit on the brink of a profound tipping point.