The Nature of Ephemerals--Disappearing Gold in Georgia--Trout Lilies and Other 'Miracles'

Trout lily, Erythronium umbilicatum, seen at Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve on Feb. 26, 2011

Seeing is not believing. For this reason, the question whether miracles occur can never be answered simply by experience. Every event which might claim to be a miracle is, in the last resort, something presented to our senses, something seen, heard, touched, smelled, or tasted. And our senses are not infallible. If anything extraordinary seems to have happened, we can always say that we have been the victims of an illusion. If we hold a philosophy which excludes the supernatural, this is what we always shall say. What we learn from experience depends on the kind of philosophy we bring to experience.--C. S. Lewis, Miracles

 I don't blame you for not believing me when I tell you there is gold in Georgia. It's almost gone, though, so don't drop whatever it is you're doing, grab your gold pan, and head for the hills. By the time you get to Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve--unless you live nearby--chances are the trout lilies will be done blooming for the year. That's the nature of ephemerals: here today and gone tomorrow. Like the balance in the checking account after paying the bills each month.

Remember that anniversary last Wednesday that SAM and I celebrated? He, sweet man that he is, stopped on his way home from work on Tuesday, February 22, and bought me a potful of calla lilies, a bottle (or two) of wine, and a balloon.

The lovely balloon that he brought home to the apartment in Tallahassee on Tuesday was not the one he had originally chosen and purchased. He said that one was snatched away by a gust of wind just as he was putting it in his truck. Well, guess what? We find it on Saturday, waiting for us in the woods in Georgia. Spirited away there one day and discovered here four days later...

After touring the trout lily preserve, we decide to visit Birdsong Nature Center, another Georgia treasure. At the conclusion of the Butterflies, Bees, and Bats seminar the week before, the couple sitting in front of us compliment me on the banana muffins I have brought to the event. That reminds me! I need to e-mail them the recipe. Better yet, I'll add the recipe to the blog under a new tab and send them a link. The more readers, the merrier! Anyway, after introductions all around and some pleasant conversation, we confess that we are walkers through and through. They think we might enjoy visiting the lily preserve and checking out some other trails in the area. Birdsong, a former plantation full of history and mystery, is high on a list of favorites.

Now, I ask you, what if I had brought store-bought muffins to share and not those homemade ones? Would those nice people have been so helpful and forthcoming with their suggestions and directions? Maybe so, but I think that making a little extra effort butters the serendipity pan, so to speak.

Speaking of buttering the pan...Somewhere along a Birdsong trail, just before we find that errant balloon, we spot these mushrooms growing on a rotting log. SAM convinces me that they are edible. He says his dad used to find the same kind in the woods in Southern Illinois while deer hunting and brought them home for SAM's mom to batter and fry. The ones we find are fresh and tender and, in the nature of ephemeral things, not likely to stay that way for long. So, I figure, why not? We pick one cluster of many that are growing on the log. Cross my heart, that's all we take! Only problem is, we have nothing to put (hide) them in except my camera bag. Would anyone notice? Or care?

Honestly, I don't take plants from their natural setting. The trout lilies were safe with us, notwithstanding the manhandling pictured above. Mushrooms, on the other hand, aren't plants. Here today and here tomorrow, thanks to their mode of reproduction. To my way of thinking, they are suitable game for bagging or snagging, or whatever you want to call it. All's fair in love and spore!

SAM wants to try them grilled, and I prefer them sauteed in butter along with some garlic, wine, and heavy cream, served atop a piece of toast. We divide the haul in half and try them both ways. All of the evidence--if you can believe it--in the nature of ephemerals, disappears without a trace.



The "bird window" designed by Betty Komarek, one of the nature center's founders



 Our impressions of Birdsong, however, will remain with us forever.



One of many well-tended walking trails at Birdsong

 

The Listening Place, a screened pavilion which overlooks Big Bay Swamp



Some artwork to admire while relaxing in front of the bird window