Pasque flower beneath American plum, Spring Lake Township, Minnesota (Photo by K. Chapman)
February 1, 2015. The pasque flower…first flower to bloom on the prairies and hill slopes of the Midwest, its cup of nectar inviting the earliest of pollinators–tiny, gentle bees and flies–to the year’s first life-giving sip. Before this flower, hard ground, ice, snow, and not much to eat–little to nothing, in fact, for the majority of animals living alongside our great human enterprise. After the pasque flower, incrementally the days grow towards abundance, nourishing the next generation of animals. The word “pasque” comes from pascal, referring to Easter when so much is reborn. Without the pascal feast, life would not exist. Drink up, drink up, you thirsty creatures, after your long sleep! – Kim