Celebrating the coming of spring

Spring in Sonoma Valley

Officially the vernal equinox is still several weeks away, yet there’s no doubt that spring has arrived in Sonoma Valley – with exuberant enthusiasm. A recent walk through the green hills of the Regional Park revealed quantities of wild flowers and babbling brooks. Truly. Babbling’s not just a cliché. The freshly filled, tiny tributaries do talk, certainly to me, and maybe you, as well.

Do I sound a bit like dear late Joan Cochran, who, you may recall, loved to say that she often talked to Gen. Mariano G. Vallejo? While I chuckled about it then (always with affection and respect for Joan), I now find, as I age, I could well be in the same category. No, not hearing the voices of historical folks in my own parlor (as if I had a parlor), but voices in the tiny rivulets of fresh rain heading to join Stuart and Sonoma Creeks. 

Creekside questions

In a recent class in Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing, or more easily understood, meditative walking) at the Bouverie Preserve, expert Amos Clifford, urged us to offer up questions to a passing creek as one slowly ambles downstream. Then wait for what answers are offered up by later listening further on. 

As I left the preserve, I tossed my questions into the rush of Stuart Creek. By the time I arrived back in the center of Glen Ellen, the deeper rush of Sonoma Creek didn’t offer any revelations. I did feel lightened, if not enlightened. Spring, indeed, helps us feel alive. 

What a blessing that we folks in Glen Ellen can walk right out of our doors and into the beautiful Sonoma Valley Regional Park within minutes, letting the life of emerging spring lighten our hearts. 

Wildflowers 

Right now the park is featuring plenty of plumped-up lichen. Those pale green lacy tendrils that dangle from oak branches are not Spanish moss as so many like to say, but nature’s lovely combination of algae and fungus, a lichen commonly called old man’s beard. On the hillsides, recent wildflowers have included the popcorn flowers and milkmaids, with occasional white baby blue eyes amid buttercups and sun cups. (If you really wanted to know, we could talk about “Plagiobothrys,” “Cardamine california,” “Nemophila menziesii,” “Ranunculus californicus,” and “Camissonia ovate.” Those Latin names are fun to pronounce, though they don’t make the flowers any more real to a forgetful wanderer like me). Still, back home in my easy chair, I like to consult Donald Borror’s “Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms.” That’s my version of “working roots.” Borror informs me that nemo means woodland, and we all know that phila refers to love-of. Yes, the white baby blue eyed flowers and Sylvia have something in common; we both enjoy hanging out in the woodland.  

David Bouverie always emphasized that the essential ingredient to enjoy nature was to identify with it and see each bud and leaf and flower as a friend. And so I do. And, as with some of my human friends these days, I may not always remember their names as well as I once did in my youth, but I do appreciate our chance encounters.

One special baby blue eyes

Recently my friend Brenda Crocker came walking by my kitchen window pushing one of those snazzy new-fangled strollers that young women run behind. Like me, Brenda is a new grandmother. Charming little Devlin, snug in the carriage, has the loveliest baby blue eyes I’ve ever seen (rivaling even the forest flowers). Years past, Brenda and I walked many miles together and I was charmed to see her with Devlin. 

In a column soon, I’ll share the adventure that recently had Brenda “training” with Sonoma Mountain walks upwards of 13 miles. When not tackling treacherous canyon treks, or strolling through town with Devlin, Brenda works as a nurse at the Sonoma Developmental Center, though I think now she’s mostly retired. 

Walks and talks abounding

If you’re interested in learning more about earth’s natural abundance of spring flora and fauna, there are several opportunities right now. At Jack London State Historic Park, docents Deborah Large and John Lynch, along with avian expert Ken Ackerman are offering a “Wildflower Walk” on March 7. On the other side of the Valley, docents of the Bouverie Preserve of Audubon Canyon Ranch will be holding an open house on March 14, while  biologist Jeanne Wirka offers a wildflower walk on March 28. There are also various Saturday nature hikes at the Bouverie in late February continuing through May. 

Down the road at Quarryhill Botanical Gardens, you’ll find a huge variety of wild Asian botanical species (which are many of our beloved garden plants). On March 7, Quarryhill features a class by famous photographer Saxon Holt. For more about each of these hikes and classes, go to the organizations’ websites and you will find many spring opportunities in our village.    

Passing views

It was barely a few weeks back that on a recent morning rush to Santa Rosa for a routine medical appointment I had the defrost turned to full strength. While listening to the radio announce four feet of snow at Cambridge Square and blizzards throughout the East Coast, I knew I wasn’t nearly as cold as my poor dear relatives in Massachusetts.

In fact, by the time I reached the Highway 12 stoplight on Arnold Drive, all frost had cleared my windshield and a most glorious Glen Ellen day revealed itself. Looking across the vineyards just opposite that light, I saw the green and glorious Mayacamas glowing beyond, and a blazing blue sky punctuated with roiling cumulus clouds. 

Among the delights that greeted me along Highway 12 were the gold-tipped branches of the small willow trees along Tom Atwood’s ranch property. How could one not think of dear Robert Frost’s famous lines, “Nature’s first green is gold.”

With the morning sun peeking over the mountain, those trees seemed on fire, branches lifted in heavenward spirit. Further on, the recent rains have greened the hillsides and added bright yellow mustard between the rows of vineyards. How could one not be happy here.

Later that day, riding home via Bennett Valley Road, I was again cheered by the host of golden daffodils that border Mark Brewer’s property. We also enjoyed the daffodils surrounding Jeanne and David Everidge’s replacement tree for the old oak that crashed across Arnold Drive this winter. 

The daffodils prompt me to recall dear William Wordworth’s lines, inspired by England’s lake district. Here, in a final stanza, he reflects on how flowers fade, yet joy remains:

For oft, when on my couch I lie, 

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

I urge you to enjoy our Valley at this time especially, whether watching out your car window, wandering the trails of the Regional Park, or being guided through our local parks and gardens, such as Quarryhill, Jack London, and Bouverie. Then, at home, peruse the poetry that inspires one to see in new ways.  

Bouquets at the DeYoung

If you love formal flower arrangements, and like to get out of Glen Ellen from time to time, note that the De Young Museum in San Francisco will soon be hosting its annual Bouquets to the Arts. 

For more than 10 years now, Glen Ellen creative genius, floral artist Tasha Drengson has been providing a floral display for the DeYoung Museum’s Bouquets to the Arts. Last year, she honored Chiura Obata’s painting of the Forest Maiden. It was a delight to hang around Tasha’s flower-formed spirit house and watch both children and adults peek through the windows and admire her artful offering.  

I don’t yet know what painting she will grace this year, but I do know her bouquet will be among my favorites. Her fanciful Glen Ellen inspired creations always reflect our hometown in a lovely way. Bouquets to the Arts is scheduled for April 14 through 19. My friends from our “April Fools Book Club” have already planned our annual outing. Maybe I’ll see other Sonoma Valley friends there; I usually do. 

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Look for my column on the Index-Tribune website sonomanews.com under the category Lifestyle. Click on Sylvia Crawford for current and old columns. Call or write me at 996-5995 or P.O. Box 518, GE 95442. Or email me at creekbottom@earthlink.net.