Archived Thoughts for 01/15/06

Thoughts of a Rural Woman

Winter Drive
by The Editor, Rebecca Brown

A drive to the county seat
for appointments & supplies,
takes us away from our work
from our nest, from our comfort zone
into the sylvan majesty of the Olympic Peninsula.

How red are the riotous Alders -- Alnus rubra
as they crowd the spaces between the evergreens,
& how white glow their trunks,
& how green are hugging the Mosses - possibly Plagiomnium venustum, maybe Antitrichia curtipendula, probably Isothecium myosuroides.

How far through the trees we can see
with last Summer's leaves moldering away,
wafting up their primordial perfume,
& busily making another layer of earth
to cover the rocks. along with Mosses, left bare by receding glaciers.

Now we can see through the underbush
to the greens of Sword Ferns colonies - Polystichum munitum
& the sempervirens Salal bushes - Gaultheria shallon,
& the rare wild Rhododendron - R. macrophyllum.
There too, a Holly - Ilex opaca bristles bright with berries.

Lichens & Liverworts flock bare branches in their luminous greys
& strands of grey-green Methuselah Beards - Usnea longissima droop down,
& Big Leaf Maples - Acer macrophyllum are all clad
in their green, thick velor leotards
of Dendroalsia abietina with Polypod epaulets.

The grey ribbon of road glistens
as it winds uphill, over river & down ravine,
past homes snuggled in their clearings
with smoke drifting up from their chimneys
sending a sweet scent that goes deep into my bones.

Conifers - Tsuga heterophylla Hemlocks, Pinus monticola Pines, Picea sitchensis Spruce, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis Cedars & Pseudotsuga menziesii Firs - everywhere in every hue of green
from the palest of yellows to the darkest of browns.
Short ones, tall ones, thick ones, scrawny ones,
Some with their branches brushing the ground,
Others naked to their tops which burst forth like Christmas trees.

In logged areas, nursery stumps thrive
with little daughter trees standing tall
amid miniature landscapes of Mosses,
Huckleberries - Vaccinium parvifolium, Mosses & Salal,
& in season, Fungus galore!

& the bare Salmonberries - Rubus spectabilis & Thimbleberries - Rubus parviflorus
paint ruddy swatches across the green,
& died-away Summer grasses - Poaceae daub
golden patches any Rumplestiltskin could weave,
as the rivers roil by in silty, frothing ochres.

Coming on down the long hill to Crescent Lake,
set in the cleft of the Olympic foothills
with their shoulders whitened by Winter storms.
The Lake's sheen reflects the colors of the sky
as it mirrors the exquisite shoreline.

Last week this very same drive
had been into a frozen Winterland
with every branch
every twig
every bush
every blade
every mailbox
every flag
every home
every car
flocked in glittering white.

By now, you must realize, I'm so in love with the land wherein I find myself. even if we're in our 27th day of rain!

All reference & reverence to Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast compiled by Messrs. Pojar & MacKinnon, et al.

Rebecca