Ephemeral

e·phem·er·al (/əˈfem(ə)rəl/) Adjective: lasting for a very short time. Noun: a short-lived plant.

Today is April 1^st. Right now, the hepatica’s companions are spring beauty and false rue anemone, which carpet the flatland like tiny white stars. Bloodroot, a yellow-centered flower that shoots up out of basal leaves that look as if they’ve been chewed on, is already beginning to drop its white petals. Dutchman’s breeches have just started to hang up their white pants, which are tiny and yellow right now. Wood phlox and larkspur, which will add some blue to the landscape once they bloom, are nothing but leaves now, the former small and elliptical, like petunias, the latter like fringed maple leaves. 

An ephemeral’s weakness is also its strength: Because it’s short-lived, you have to pay attention to it or, as a wise kid once said about life, “you could miss it.” That’s why we’ll come back week after week, as long as our old legs will carry us up the hill.