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“How can we ever

lose interest in life?

Spring has come again

And cherry trees bloom

in the mountains.” 

~ Ryokan

 

April has brought her garden basket filled with seed packets, violet bouquets and a treat of early strawberries from down the mountain. 

In Saluda, those April showers set in for a while, so that’s my chance to admire ferns unfurl luxurious fronds which leads to thinking I need to get out there and start dividing them while it’s damp underfoot.

That’s a yearly project, but I’m slow at getting the spade and newly-repainted green garden cart going full blast this spring. However, the old trusty weed-eater got pulled out from hiding, wiped clean of cobwebs and last year’s dirt, restrung, and that was THAT. It takes a while to regain strength in the left side and arm, I’m finding out. “Every bit counts” is the daily mantra. 

So, I work/putter in the garden as much as the body allows–in smaller stretches (figuratively and literally). Even in the changing skies under the eclipse, remembering watching the last one with River Dog, a large bowl of water reflecting the event. 

Time has drifted on since, but ferns lift up, trillium and wildflowers sprinkle the path, and that bright-green garden cart is spruced up, ready to roll. 

• Our new Saluda Art Alliance is sponsoring Saluda Art Strolls on the second Saturday of each month of the 2024 season. On April 13 from 4-6 p.m., you can visit shops and studios, view art and enjoy light refreshments. 
• Saluda Library will have storytime for ages 2-5 with books, songs, crafts, and fun on April 16 at 10:30 a.m., with a dance party afterward with Laura from Polk County Parks & Rec.
• Saluda Living in Place (SLIP) will feature herbalist June Ellen Bradley on April 17, 10 a.m. presenting “All About Herbals–Nature’s Aid to Better Health”.
• Saluda Historic Depot’s next Trains Tale on April 19, 7 p.m. will be with Saluda favorite Pearlie Mae Suber Harris and “The Sounds of Growing Up Along the Saluda Grade.” Amid racial segregation, she moved with her family to Saluda in 1940 and grew up near the railroad tracks. Back then, Saluda Depot had a segregated waiting room. Education, although rare for young Black women in the 40’s and 50’s, was a powerful theme throughout Pearlie Mae’s life. She graduated high school in 1953, then left Saluda to find work in Greenville. At that time, she was given the opportunity by Mrs. Simpson (of the Belks-Simpson department store chain) to attend Barber-Scotia College. Pearlie went on to teach for the next 39 years, earned a Masters degree from Furman University, and later, an honorary doctorate. In 2020, she was honored as the subject of a large-scale mural celebrating diversity and education in Greenville.
• Saluda Community Land Trust (SCLT) “Walks in the Woods” will be another visit to Twin Bridges for more wildflowers on April 21. Meet at Saluda Library’s parking lot at 2 p.m. to carpool. Visit saludaclt.org or call 828-749-1560 for information; mark your calendar for SCLT’s annual meeting/dinner held at Saluda Center on May 1, 5:30-7:30. 
• The next Saluda Community Table is on April 23 at Saluda Center from 5:30-7 p.m. Meals are free, donations welcomed; bring your own tableware.
• Calling all volunteers! The 19th annual Saluda Arts Festival is May 18 from 10-4; volunteers are needed for 2-hour shifts as section leaders and assistants, information tent, parking supervisors and golf cart drivers. To volunteer, contact Linda Bailey at boblindabailey@hotmail.com.  

Happy April Birthday to Melody Gibson, Dave Prudhomme, Kaye Vazquez, Cindy Keeter, Hope Pace, Diane Pace, Greaton Sellers, Clay Arrington, Bonnie Bardos, Luther Connor, Gary Pace, Doug Honeycutt, Taylor Thompson, Loretta Cook, Hilda Pace, Elizabeth Taylor, Laura Morgan, Roberta Cart, Joan Beddingfield, Anne Lee, Mabel Pace, Mary Jo Wannamaker and Joan Mondrick. 

Feel free to contact me at bbardos@gmail.com, (828) 817-6765, P.O. Box 331, Saluda, NC 28773, Facebook, or visit bonniebardos.com