A Little Touch of Spring
By: Valerie Valcour
The Vernal Equinox is March 20, 2019. Looking outside my window, I dare say there is more snow melting that needs to happen before it feels like spring. Every year I look forward to spring and getting my hands in the garden to tend my flowers. For me, caring for my flowers provides me solace and relaxation.
You can find several references regarding gardening as a source of mental health. Here is one such reference from Psychology Today. In this article, the author identifies gardening as a source of nurturing and being in the present moment.
The first flower that greets us in the spring is the Crocus. The Crocus is a brave yet delicate flower. It reminds me that having a little courage can help me push through the cold dormant ground of winter’s past. I hope you enjoy this poem by Frances Ellen Walkins Harper and think Spring!
The Crocuses
They heard the South wind sighing
A murmur of the rain;
And they knew that Earth was longing
To see them all again.
While the snow-drops still were sleeping
Beneath the silent sod;
They felt their new life pulsing
Within the dark, cold clod.
Not a daffodil nor daisy
Had dared to raise its head;
Not a fairhaired dandelion
Peeped timid from its bed;
Though a tremor of the winter
Did shivering through them run;
Yet they lifted up their foreheads
To greet the vernal sun.
And the sunbeams gave them welcome,
As did the morning air—
And scattered o’er their simple robes
Rich tints of beauty rare.
Soon a host of lovely flowers
From vales and woodland burst;
But in all that fair procession
The crocuses were first.
First to weave for Earth a chaplet
To crown her dear old head;
And to beauty the pathway
Where winter still did tread.
And their loved and white-haired mother
Smiled sweetly ’neath the touch,
When she knew her faithful children
Were loving her so much
-Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, 1825 – 1911
Valerie Valcour is a Public Health Nurse and specializes in chronic disease prevention and emergency preparedness at the community level for the Department of Health in Morrisville. Valerie has lived in Lamoille County for most of her life. She graduated from People’s Academy in 1983 and worked as a nurse at Copley Hospital for several years. In addition to her work, she volunteers as a board member of both Community Health Services of Lamoille Valley and the Lamoille County Planning Commission.