Adult reading lesson, photo essays: Inspiration for the Wellspring Series of Short Stories

The Long Way Around

From our yard, we could see it: a shimmer of blue just through the trees in the hedgerow. But no easy way to reach it. The creek runs deep and fast in spring.

That first year, we took the long way — down the road, across the bridge, and through farmer fields. Forty-five minutes of hiking through mud, swamp, and thorn bushes.

The patch looked close. But wonder doesn’t always come easy.

A World of Wonder

We came out of the brambles and into another world.

Bluebells everywhere. So many we stood still, not wanting to crush a single one. And behind them — trilliums. White at first, but look closely…

There are pink ones. Purple ones. Secret colors hidden in the forest floor.

Abundance and Diversity

The kids noticed it first — Linda pointing at a pink trillium, Kevin crouching by a bluebell with purple tips.

We started calling it our secret patch. But it’s not just the flowers. It’s the birdsong. The frogs in the low wet places.

Our Haiku Box — that little device on the balcony — has recorded over 200 bird species in this area. Some of them sing here.

So many blooms. So many wings in the trees. A wellspring indeed.

We Return Every Spring

We never meant to make it a tradition, but it became one anyway. Each spring, we lace up our boots, pack a thermos, and make the walk again.

And sometimes, we bring others. It’s a joy to share the patch — to see someone catch their breath when the flowers come into view.

The bluebells return, the trilliums unfurl, and the birds sing just like they did the year before. It doesn’t get old.

A Gift That Keeps Giving

One spring, Amber came with us. She stood quiet in the patch for a long time, eyes wide, notebook in hand.

That summer, she started writing. A story about a secret rabbit village hidden in the bluebell woods. The patch we walked through every spring became her setting.

Kevin picked up the thread — sketching characters, imagining game levels. Linda began exploring other wetlands, camera around her neck and a field guide in her pack. So much like me.