I’m not much of a gardener. I like to grow a few things but am not an expert. One of the differences between our home in Washington and our one in South Dakota is that we can grow plants from bulbs. In South Dakota, it seemed like the deer ate anything that grew from bulbs as soon as it emerged from the ground before we got any blossoms. We did have good luck with iris. Iris grow from rhizomes, which aren’t quite the same as bulbs, but I don’t know much about the difference. Here, however, all of our bulb plants are pretty successful. The deer don’t come into our yard for some reason. Perhaps it is because we live in a neighborhood where the houses are closer together. Skagit County is one of the nation's major flower bulb producers just south of our county. Tulips and daffodils are raised in large fields that are gorgeous to visit in the springtime. We buy bulbs from one of the tulip farms there, and each autumn, we’ve added a few to our yard. Last fall, in addition to planting a few more tulips and daffodils, we planted a bunch of grape hyacinth bulbs.

Those bulbs have been a source of great joy for me this spring. The delightful flowers came early, and the variety we planted is supposed to yield blossoms for a couple of months. Our tulips are up but not blossoming yet, so the hyacinths produce a field of purple dotted with bright yellow daffodils in our front yard.

This is the season when it rains heavily in the northwest. We have a few bright and sunny days, but there are rainy days nearly every week. The cooler, gray days can be a bit gloomy, but the bulbs produce an antidote that makes me want to get outside and look.

A while ago, I heard an interview on the CBC radio show “The Current” with a professor at a University in Edmonton who studies the correlation between nature and people’s well-being. The gist of the interview is that if you take a moment to notice the nature around you, whether it is a tree, grass, flowers, birds, or other animals, you will feel a spark of joy—connections with nature result in an increased sense of connectedness, hope, and gratitude.

Those feelings of connection and hope are necessary in this particular season and the political climate in which we find ourselves. There are a lot of people who are feeling increased senses of stress and anxiety over the destruction of American democracy being promoted by political leaders in Washington, DC. Some of our friends respond by participating in regular demonstrations, writing letters to leaders, and doing other activities. Others are finding communities of support where they are free to talk about their feelings. Others are directly serving those who are most vulnerable and who have been victims of political attacks. In our area, immigrants are feeling especially vulnerable, as are GLBTQ+ youth and adults. Providing safe places for those who are being targeted by cuts in education funding, governmental services, and direct threats of violence and deportation can provide a meaningful outlet for some of our friends.

Regardless of how we engage in positive political action, all of us can benefit from taking time to enjoy the natural world around us. One of the gifts in our lives is that we take a daily walk. We instituted this practice in late 2019 and early 2020 as Susan recovered from a heart incident. It has become a habit, and we rarely miss our walk. Most days, we walk a couple of miles; some days, we walk a bit more. Our most usual path at home is to walk down to the beach, along the shore for a ways, and then loop back up the hill to our house. Along the way, we walk by several of our neighbors’ homes with their yards and gardens, along a path next to a birch forest, down a hill lined with tall trees, and out onto the beach. There is a lot along our route that gives us a sense of connection with the natural world. Our walks give us time for casual conversation, opportunities to view nature together, and the simple pleasure of being outside.

One of the neighbor's homes that we pass on our daily walks has a yard sign saying, “Gardening is cheaper than therapy. And you get tomatoes.” Many days, in addition to seeing the yard and the sign, we have opportunities to talk to the homeowners who are outside working in their gardens. There are several raised beds where they grow vegetables and many spaces filled with ornamental plants. Through our conversation, we met a relative of that family who has a greenhouse a few miles away, and from her, we obtain our tomato and pepper plants each spring. It is still a bit early for those plants to go into the garden, but there are enough chores in early spring to get us outdoors. We are probably free from frost this year, and we have cleared the mulch from our strawberry plants, which are starting to grow and spread as the soil warms.

There are a few blooming trees in our neighborhood. Our cherry trees are full of buds but have not yet burst into blossoms. Watching them and anticipating the beautiful pink blossoms gives us hope. Not far behind the cherry blossoms will come the wisteria, which will burst into purple before long.

Our lives are part of the natural cycles of growth and decay. We are not separate from the natural world. Getting out and sensing that connection is essential to maintaining emotional balance in these challenging times. We started walking to enhance our physical health and have experienced those benefits. We also know how important our daily walks are to our mental health. Noticing the world around us lowers our stress levels and gives us more resilience for the challenges of our time.