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“Every season is wonderful if we have a spring of love within us.” 

~  Bhuwan Thapaliya 

 

The weekend, when temperatures dropped from balmy to freezer-like 20s, I stepped out one morning and discovered a luna month near the door. Bitter wind nipping, I gently picked her up, cupping her against my warmth and brought her in, figuring she’d hatched out on a warm day. Mother Nature can fool us all! 

 

This is the earliest in the year I’ve ever found a luna moth, and the first time I’ve brought one in for a stay. At first, she rested motionless on a blue kitchen towel; every hour I’d peek at her, wondering if she’d made it a bit longer. Lunas only live a short time– usually under a week. They are fleeting magical creatures rarely seen in daylight. 

 

Later in the afternoon, I carried her outside to see if she’d like to take wing, but the air still had a nip. Luna hung stubbornly on my finger, so back inside she came. I told her she’d enjoy all my indoor plants and to make herself at home. Before I knew it, she’d disappeared. Each morning, I’d hunt for her. A small lime-green moth can be mighty hard to spot. 

 

At night, I’d hear the flutter of velvety-soft wings and feel a sense of relief beyond measure that my little mysterious friend was still alive. I found her drifting and bouncing above the lamplight one evening, then she perched on one of my paintings as if to say “paint ME in this one!” 

 

She’d been visiting for a few days, and then it warmed back up. One evening, I caught Luna again, and outside we went. Releasing her to the spring evening, I wished her well and thanked her for a most unusual friendship—there is indeed magic in the smallest of creatures.  

 

• Saluda Living in Place (SLIP) sponsors a free breakfast for Saluda-area veterans at Saluda Fire Department on the first Wednesday of each month, at 0900 hours. 

 

• Saluda Elementary School is celebrating its 100th anniversary on April 4 with a Century Walk and the school science fair.  

 

• Love books? Saluda Book Club meets at Saluda Center, located at 64 Greenville Street, on the first Thursday of each month at 1 p.m. For the April 6 meeting, Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead” will be discussed and compared to Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield.” Interested readers are welcome! 

 

• Happy March Birthday to Genell Jespersen, Valerie Mintz, Sheldon Mintz, Curtis Pace, Anita Moore, Dorrie McKinley, Catherine Ross, Monica Pace, Ken Justus, Elizabeth Justus, Arlene Klippel, Rachel Bradley, Chris Bradley, Dawn Ward, Dori Ray, Martin Anderson, Lucy Holman, Craig Bass, Laura Bass, Patty Martin, Tangie Morgan, Melanie Keener, Tuula Veil, Erica Shanks and Paul Rhodes. 

 

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