A Monday meander: The greening

The Green Man has been at work.

We sat in silence, letting the green in the air heal what it could.

~ Erica Bauermeister, The Scent Keeper

Life itself is as much a long walk as it is a long conversation, and the ways along which we walk are those along which we live.

~ Tim Ingold, Ways of Walking

The spring ephemerals are blooming.

I’ve always liked the word ephemeral.  I don’t remember when I first heard the term spring ephemerals in relation to the flowers that bloom briefly in the early spring months, but I do remember being fascinated that there is a term for those flowers that spring up and only last a day or a few days, and then are gone until next year.  They fit the definition of a general sense of a thing of transitory existence.

That’s life, isn’t it?  All of it is transitory.  Just like the spring ephemerals.

Less than two weeks ago in the swamp.

Kith and kin refers to one’s friends and family, one’s relations. Kith and kin dates back to the fourteenth century, however the word kith first appeared in the eighth century. Kith is derived from the Old English words cȳthth and cynn and carried the meaning, of one’s native land. In other words, the original meaning of kith and kin was one’s country and family. Kith has evolved to mean something closer to one’s friends, so kith and kin means one’s friends and relatives. Kith is a fossil word, which is an archaic word that is only used today in a very narrow sense inside a phrase or idiom. 

~ The Grammarist

How are you?  How was your weekend?  We were gifted with a visit from a good friend over the weekend.  While sitting down to write about her visit, I started wondering about the meaning of the words “kith and kin.”  Kin is apparently someone related by blood, but there are some who believe the word means “of the same kind.”  That would, of course, make all of us humans kin.  No surprises there.  But kith was also related to “people, race, kinsmen, family” and somehow evolved to mean friends or acquaintances.  At any rate, I would consider J, our friend, as both kith and kin.  Friend and family.  I often think that some of our closest friends are the family we would have had if we’d been given the choice in the matter, and they are, in fact, more like family than some family members will ever be.

Yesterday. The ferns have unfurled.

We went out to the woods for a hike yesterday and, as I put it in my Instagram post, it was a beautiful hike with beautiful people.  The Green Man must have been out there ahead of us.  There were so many different shades of green vying for attention and light.

Beautiful people, walking ahead.

We did a good deal of walking and exploring.  More than I can possibly show you in one post.  Plus, I’m playing with the idea of shorter posts.  Just to see if I can manage brevity.  So…  thank you so much for visiting with me today.  Let’s meet out at the Point for sunset this evening.  It’s scheduled for 7:55 PM.  There are plenty of clouds out and about that might add some colorful additions to the sky.  It’s very warm and humid, but a light jacket might come in handy since it’s still a little chilly near the water.

Please be safe, be well, and always be kind.

Magical greens.

A few of the 10,000 reasons to be happy:  1,996)  Spending a little time with a good friend.  1,997)  Beautiful hikes with beautiful people.  1,998)  The greening of the woods and fields.  1,999)  But it’s not all green.  Some of the fields around here are a bright and striking shade of yellow, looking like seas of buttercups.  Lovely!  2,000)  M, always and forever.

The dogwoods were, surprisingly, still in bloom.