There are many vignettes in a Black Hills springtime, which are here, then gone in the blink of an eye. It is the tempestuous nature of the spirits that live here. It is one of the things I love best- it reminds me of the tiny little spot I occupy in the Universe...
Take, for example, today. It was a partly sunny day all day, in the mid 70s. After dinner there was a change in the air...
I love Spring in the Black Hills. It's so dramatic- with changes happening from moment to moment. This year, Spring has "sprung" forward with a vengeance. By mid-March things were getting decidedly toasty. Everyone said it would pass, and we would surely get a blizzard. But, now that it is mid-April, and the lilacs are out, well- the odds are against it.
So it was in this frame of mind that I ventured out to Custer State Park to look for signs of Spring- flowers, baby Buffalo, shedding Buffalo!
The drive to the park was every bit as interesting!
The residents were accommodating, but..
...that's close enough!
The park was brilliant in it's early season splendor.
Water in abundance, and- due to the high elevation- stil plenty of snow and ice around the edges.
Still, shadows gather quickly in the 'Hills, and it is best to keep moving, so as
not to get caught
by nightfall...
When the shadows get longer, one never knows...
what the shadows may bring...
...and had best not be caught up in them... So with the setting sun I headed back north for the evening....But the weekend was not over yet!
The next day was even warmer- high 70's! So JhonDuane and I agreed to meet at a favorite picnic spot, to take full advantage of the cool pristine waters as they flow from the deep underground of the 'Hills...
A picnic always tastes better next to a bubbling spring-especially after your feet have cooled down...hard to believe this was the last day of March!
After a great picnic, a satisfying nap- it was time to call it- a very fine weekend, indeed!
Romance brought me out here. Yep- I admit it. And since I've been here I have become more and more romanced by the Beauty All Around Me...
Stones. They dominate the scene here. In fact- they turned themselves inside out- to create the world. With Super Powers such as this, how could I not be swept off of my feet by them?
There is a special rock that continues to lure me out here as no other- the Fairburn Agate. When I was still in New Hampshire, it slipped itself on my finger, and it was love at first sight. From then on, I guess I was a goner! No two Fairburn agates are alike, and they continue to amaze and bedazzle me with their beauty and power.
The second one came to me when I had replanted myself in South Dakota, somewhere in Dakota Territory...
Up to this point I had only seen mostly polished Fairburn stones, and not that many of them. But I was determined to find one of my own.
I wandered around here and there, farther and farther afield. One hot summer's day, on my way back after several hours hunting- hot and tired, I saw this rock...sitting in the path. The same path I had just walked earlier! There it was- big as life, as if it had just walked there, and was waiting for the next available bus out of town. How could I have missed it earlier? It was as big as my fist. I was struck by it's beauty, but unsure if that really was a Fairburn. Ha!
I got home and dumped all my findings onto the porch, then jumped into the shower. Dried and jumping into fresh clothes, I was just in time as JhonDuane came up the porch steps. By the time I got to the door, he was already checking out my rocks. Before I had time to say anything, he picked up the potato-sized rock and raced to the kitchen to wash it.
"Aw, you don't want this old prairie agate do you?" he said, an odd lilt to his voice.
By this I already knew what it was.
Since then I cannot help but heed the siren's song of this ancient Fairburn agate. I go out to seek it at every chance available.
There are many places to search for Fairburn agates. I will not take the time to share this as there are many other sites more knowledgeable than this little blog regarding Fairburn agate beds. The reader has only to initiate a Google search to find them. It is enough to say that I have spent many happy hours in some of the most beautiful and remote places in Lakota territory hunting them.
Early this summer I tried a new location- in the Black Hills. It was one of the most beautiful places in the 'Hills that I have seen. Because of all the rain, June put on one of the most spectacular displays I have experienced since I have been here. Nature outdid herself! The spot itself is amazing! It is a place of peace and visual splendor.
After an hour or so of hunting in this lovely spot, I had some tiny treasures. No one of these were more than half an inch!
...and some- not as tiny!
By late afternoon it was time to head back to Rapid City, tired, but happy with my finds, and a peaceful heart.
It is no wonder that the Lakota spoke of the Black Hills as a place of sustenance and renewal!
Euell Gibbons brought foraging for wild edible plants back to the mainstream in the "dominant culture" back in the late '60s-early'70s Stalking the Wild Asparagus.
However, what was a novelty and charming to many of his readers was 'ho-hum to those with whom he grew up, and many others for whom the bounty of Nature was not just a fun thing to do, but how you survived.
My Mother's Mother, "Tommy" Walsh raised awareness in my young life regarding the bounty that Nature provided. When we visited her at her home on Cape Cod, she would have jams, jellies and wine made from plants she had collected. She was considered somewhat "eccentric in my staid, proper and very modern New England family.
I remember that- one time she my brother Jimmy brought home live conch shell (think the shell in the movie Hawaii that the Indigenous Hawaiians blew on). She declared to the general congregation (my Mom- who was slightly scandalized and me and my siblings) that Native people ate conches. She said that she was going to boil it and eat it. She did. I had a taste. It was ok. Everyone else looked green.
Fast forward to the 60s-70s. Back to the land. I was THERE. I went out and STALKED the wild asparagus. Yummy!
...and poke weed:
...and burdock root (where the burrs that stick on your animals come from).
When I lived in New Hampshire we always had a substantial garden.
We still enjoyed a bounty of Nature. The Bryn and Hilary and I, and sometimes their dad, would hike to the top of North Pack Monadnock in late August and pick the abundant blueberries growing there... although we probably ate more than we packed out!
Fast forward to: South Dakota. It seems to be in my blood that when things get green, I start looking for what I can harvest. This year's harvest started with the tinpsila, known as prairie or wild turnip in English- Pediomelum esculenta, member of the breadroot family. It forms a tuber that is dug, the outer husk removed braided into long braids where is dries and can be kept indefinitely. It can be eaten raw, ground into recipes, boiled, sliced and added to traditional soups stews- even ground into flour and added to thicken stock. So, on a beautiful, sunny June day, JhonDuane and I set out to: stalk the wild tinpsila!
Everything seemed glad to be alive on such a day! With all the rain we had this spring, the prairie was bursting with life- and flowers.
...and the flowers were- everywhere!
Penstemon
Blue Bells
Wild Prairie Rose
Coriopsis
Scarlet Globemallow
White Penstemon
Gumbo Lily
And, of course- there were millions of tinpsilas!
They are tough little guys to dig, and you need a special sort of shovel- such as you see below. Luckily, Jhon has a knack for digging them, not surprisingly, since he has done it since he was a little boy with his Unci- grandmother in Lakota.
Tinpsila
This one was about the size of my hand. They vary from little marble-sized guys, to the size of a fist.
After a long hot day of digging, we loaded up the truck with our earthy treasures, and headed back to the house to peel and braid the roots for drying.
This takes hours and is hard on the hands, but- when they're done, the braid is beautiful, and will last for a long, long time. It was a really good day!
