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Bluebells 1 Bluebells 2 Every spring I say, “I have enough already.  Photos of Virginia bluebells look pretty much the same each year, so I don’t need to go looking for them again.”  Yet each spring, when the weather turns warm and the cherry blossoms are bursting forth in pink and white on Maryland trees, I find myself along the trails where the bluebells beckon.

Bluebells 6 Walking along bluebell-lined trails is so much more than merely finding another good cluster for my lens.  A walk along the Monocacy River, where the flowers faithfully emerge every April, regardless of how flooded their beds were in other seasons, is a reminder that even in this landscape that has seen the ravages of both storms and war, beauty will return. 

Bluebells 3 Bluebells 4 The sides of the path along the river are strewn with winter storm-damaged branches and trees, mingling with those from other years, which are slowly rotting away, returning to the soil from which they grew.  But scattered in patches among the detritus, mixed in with clumps of blue, are pink and white spring beauties, purple violets, creamy Dutchman’s Breeches, and yellow trout lilies.  These harbingers of spring appear for such a short window of time; I am always happy I decided to visit them again.

Bluebells 5 Bluebells 7 As I walked yesterday with friends, we were accompanied by the songs of birds singing for their mates, and a lovely breeze cooled us off on this first truly warm day of spring.  Yes, perhaps I do have enough photographs of bluebells.  However, I don’t have nearly enough of long walks on a beautiful spring day among the flowers.  I need renewal, too; I’ll return to the Monocacy at bluebell time for many years to come.

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