Memoirs of a Virginia Belle: Spring Adventures

Spring has sprung here in Winchester. It has crept through the Valley in the form of lolling sunny mornings, smooth hyacinth filled breezes, and the buds of dazzling jeweled tulips in bright yellows and royal purples. The longer days have made room for lazy walks, cool morning hikes, and premature gardening. My beds have come together nicely, and my produce is sure to be bountiful this year.

In honor of the Lord’s delightful weather, I thought I’d do a piece on my adventures of late. This year my beds will include more broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, string beans, sweet peas, lots of strawberries, Brussel sprouts, fresh oregano, thyme, apple mint, parsley; and hopefully some peppers and lavender. The strawberries quadrupled this year and took the better part of a morning to prune. Other beds were easier to clean out and hold mostly herbs and spices. However, I’ve set one aside for cabbage for the next two weeks just to be sure the weather holds out one.

Last Saturday I went on a hike along with some friends that was held by the women’s ministry of our church. We drove a short distance to Front Royal and hiked a stint on the Appalachian Trail.

What fun we had!

The trees were just waking from their short winter slumber, their branches reaching out with dustings of buds and flowers. The trail was alive with mosses, new sprouts, tracks from critters, and the graceful if fleeting site of deer through the brush.

Our hike leader was fabulous, Miss Kathy pointed out lots of cool facts on the ecosystem surrounding us, the different uses of some of the trees (one was a spice tree that was used in the colonial era for apple and spice cakes as well as teas). We also ran across wild raspberry bushes and strawberry patches making their spring debut. Upon further inspection of the trail, we found wild onions and parsley. Altogether, the hike was exhilarating and very refreshing after being cooped up indoors for so long.