Yesterday was the day when most of the beech leaves remaining from last year let go their grip and floated away. There's been a gradual releasing for the past three weeks or so, but yesterday was the last major release. A just in time process.

Rue anemone are opening, looking like ready to eat popcorn scattered up the hill, and variations on the theme of daffodil continue to open and stand in bloom. They scent the air all around the house. Purple wind flowers, purple violets, purple hyacinth, purple vinca and many colors of primrose are all in bloom, and May apples are opening their umbrella leaves.

A couple years ago I saw a baby woodchuck trying to hide under a May apple leaf. The size of a small woman's fist, it still had it's big baby belly, and when it saw that for sure I noticed, it tried to scramble away and had trouble keeping its feet underneath, skidding and scrambling. Working hard to survive.

What about survival when the youth, strength, and ability to work hard have all faded? Or even just strength and the ability to work hard?