Feature Article May 27, 2004
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Mother Nature's first jewel by Bill Rowsome
As soon as the snow has gone we have only a few days to comment on the desolation left by winter before Mother Nature treats us with another growing season. The white and red trillium blossoms quickly carpet our roadside forests, pushing through the winter debris for their fair share of spring sun before the woodland's emerging leaves obscure our provincial emblem for another year.
Within a few days and along the very edge of the roadway, even through the sand scattered by the winter snow plowing, the little white blossoms of wild strawberries appear. On our walks along the Mazinaw we watch these carefully. Very soon after a bout of spring sunshine and a warm rain, Mother Nature's first jewel of the season greets us with the ruby shine of these delightful wild berries. They are small, delicate and dust covered: the sight of them nestling in one's hand while blowing off the dust is just the beginning of the treat. The Ojibway called these heart berry, probably because of their shape, but I am suspicious of a deeper meaning: the heart is the bodily fountain that sustains life.
They are not as big and juicy as the locally cultivated berries, but a culinary delight after occasionally eating the tasteless white-interior imported ones during the winter. Our wild ones need no sugar to sweeten. Their delicate tartness is best appreciated while standing on the road enjoying the early spring sunshine; the delight countering the annoyance of buzzing mosquitoes.
Part of the pleasure of gathering a few of these delicate berries is the stooping to pick them. While parting the sheltering leaves to find the tasty jewels, one cannot help admire the emerging plant life already crawling with flies and insects of various orders. Mother Nature has persevered through another winter of dormancy and is beginning to clothe the naked earth with life after the near death of winter.
One cannot help but muse about her perseverance. Around the world the human race is trying its best to destroy what nature provides. We bomb our enemies lands, pave and build over prime growing soil; we hack away the sheltering forests and pollute what water we don't divert for industrial misuse. No wonder she is retaliating with severe changes in her weather patterns. Floods where floods never existed before and drought in former areas of plentiful growth indicate her displeasure with our selfish misuse of her bountifulness. We must stop hurrying to acquire more than we need for a satisfying life before she becomes completely discouraged and really punishes us because of our selfishness. Let us hope she has more patience than we humans have.
We continue our walk along the road to enjoy the after-taste of the berries lingering on our tongues. With a little human help for struggling Mother Nature, hopefully the pleasure will be repeated next spring.
