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| Robin in flight |
After our “Friends of Herbs” program
Wednesday morning at Seven Ponds Nature Center, I drove south twenty-one miles to
my favorite grocery store. I’ve learned the aisles in Fresh Thyme, where to
find ginger root (more accurately a rhizome) in their produce section.
Jeanette Farley, a
co-chair of our group, had demonstrated making ginger juice, a tasty health
boost she adds to beverages. “It’s a warming herb that improves heart health,”
she said, and named other benefits.
A believer in
ginger’s medicinal properties, I’ve steeped fresh ginger and lemon slices together
in hot tisanes (herbal tea) for years. And when my palate desires a delicious
Scottish scone, I’ll add chopped crystalized ginger, lemon zest, and dried
lavender buds for complimentary flavors.
In the long, sunny
drive to my destination, I wondered why chicken-ginger-garlic and
vegetable-ginger-garlic stir-fry retired from my main dishes without proper
notice.
Thus, I said to
self, “Add fresh ginger to your grocery list.” As Jeanette helped me plant my
first garlic patch years ago with cloves from her soft and hard neck varieties,
I grow my own garlic—and walked by Fresh Thyme’s garlic display with a smile.
Two hours later in
my kitchen, I emptied my grocery bags to discover I’d forgotten to write fresh
ginger on my list. Hmm…some sources report ginger extract “helps improve
cognitive performance and memory.”
All the more
reason to consume ginger juice. It’s not just for your heart and joints. Add it
to your daily water intake.
Needing to stretch
my legs and raise my pulse, I laced up my hiking boots at 4 PM and opened the
basement door to the robin’s song.
No. Hundreds of
robins perched in our evergreens engaged in a boisterous conference. One sweet
bird after another chirped their little heart out as if giving a lecture on how
to praise the Creator for the lovely, sunny day.
Should I fetch my
binoculars to find and observe their spokespersons? No again. I stood compelled
by their music and the nourishing moment with my eyes lifted to receive the
sun’s Vitamin D and C.
Did those darling
red-breasted choristers, those hardy Michigan hangers-on, confuse this February
thaw with spring?
Regardless, I seized
their joy and turned the corner of the house.
Lo and behold! The robins flew from the trees and followed me to the front yard. What a sight to see!
Droves of red bellies and black wings sweeping, dipping, soaring above me. Many
found branches in the front yard, some dining on crabapple tree berries.
Chirping.
Chirping. Chirping. Thanking me for planting trees for them to build their
nests and hide from predators.
“My pleasure
entirely,” I said.
Dear Reader,
robins sang in the hedgerows along the road as I walked by. They greeted me in
the old oak beside our driveway. They feasted on crabapple berries from the tree
planted in memory of our deceased daughter.
Blessed life,
singing a perennial love song our Earth offers to warm our souls. Good medicine, indeed.
