The Charity Report

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‘You be the wind that makes the seed go’

(May 21, 2020) There are thousands of charities across the globe whose missions promote the natural world—including conservation groups, botanical gardens, community gardens, flower societies and groups of citizen scientists. We think of them and appreciate their work today. Every year, spring shows us an exquisitely optimistic spirit. At the touch of her gentle hand, seeds come alive or fly on the wind. It’s a welcome sign that the world still turns, the sun still shines and there’s beauty all around us.    

“Yes, I deserve a spring–I owe nobody nothing.” 
 VIRGINIA WOOLF, A WRITER’S DIARY
Crocus
Photo: Dani 
“She turned to the sunlight
    And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
    “Winter is dead.” 
A.A. MILNE, WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG
Dandelion
Photo: Jan Ledermann 
“What a strange thing!
to be alive
beneath cherry blossoms.” 
 KOBAYASHI ISSA, POEMS
Photo: Meric Dagli
“If people did not love one another, I really don’t see what use there would be in having any spring.” 
VICTOR HUGO, LES MISÉRABLES
Crocuses
Photo: Marc Schulte
“Then you have to remember to be thankful; but in May one simply can’t help being thankful . . . that they are alive, if for nothing else. I feel exactly as Eve must have felt in the garden of Eden before the trouble began.” 
Peach Tree Blossoms
L.M. MONTGOMERY, ANNE OF AVONLEA
(Photo: Pan Zhen)
“Spring has come back again. The Earth is
like a child that’s got poems by heart.”
RAINER MARIA RILKE, SONNETS TO ORPHEUS
Tulips
Photo: Leigh Kendell
I’ll hold the buttercup under your chin 
so, you fair little baby-o!
Ah, you will love butter, day out and in, for
there’s a gold light on your dimple-o:
And you shall have butter so good and sweet.
Ho! Silverhorn, feed on the clover and
grass,
For the buttercup says my love will love butter,
and the buttercup’s saying will come
to pass
TRADITIONAL NURSERY RHYME
Butterscups
Photo: Max Malecki
“With so many trees in the city, you could see the spring coming each day until a night of warm wind would bring it suddenly in one morning.”
ERNEST HEMINGWAY, A MOVEABLE FEAST
Magnolia Tree
Photo: Christopher Jolly
Take a breath, then blow …
you be the wind that makes the seed go.
Tiny boats on a sea of air, 
sailing off to who knows where.
These seed explorers seek new land … 
to put down roots and firmly stand.
Beneath their own small suns that shine … 
A bold fresh start for a dandelion.
BLOOM TALIERCIO, DANDELION WISHES 
Photo: Uwe Conrad

Feature Photo

“The world is exploding in emerald, sage, and lusty chartreuse – neon green with so much yellow in it. It is an explosive green that, if one could watch it moment by moment throughout the day, would grow in every dimension.” 
AMY SEIDL, EARLY SPRING: AN ECOLOGIST AND HER CHILDREN WAKE TO A WARMING WORLD
Photo: Kouji Tsuru

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