The green stairway

For me, May is a month to savor. Tender green leaves unfurl with possibility and the woods echo with birdsong. After a nearly snow-less winter and a scary spell of drought in early spring, we've had several periods of rainy and cool weather. Now everything is vivid, emerald green. 

Thankfully, the rains have also replenished vernal pools and are bringing rivers and streams up to more normal levels. It's a blessing pollen-wise as well.

Recently, I followed a 10-mile trail into the woods. The stairway leading down to this section of the trail brings you “into the green.”