Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 25, 1994 TAG: 9404270063
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EIDTOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``We don't mean to step on you, but we have to get through here,'' she says.
Wildflowers are Ellington's life, and when you follow her through the spring woods and fields you can get the feeling that you are an intruder, like someone about to walk on her rug with muddy shoes. But she wants you to be there, to be an observer of this miracle of spring, expressed elegantly in a rush of colors.
If you appreciate it, she explains, you also will want to preserve it. So Ellington, and her husband, Sam, have been active in the Science Museum's Wildflower Pilgrimages for 25 years, as well as in the functions of the Blue Ridge Wildflower Society.
But this day is not organized, it simply is a romp through the woods and fields with friends, including Evelyn and John Walk.
``My mother used to take us to the woods during the Depression, when we were growing up at Clifton Forge,'' Ellington says. ``That was what we did; that was our recreation, going to the woods.''
She pauses to examine four species of wildflowers growing in a 2-foot square, calling out their names in recognition.
``It is one of the most interesting hobbies you can have,'' she continues. ``There is always something you can find, from the spring flowers to the fall foliage. It is great for the children. If people would take their children out more into the woods and fields, they would do much better than some of them are doing now.''
``We are trying to indoctrinate our grandchildren,'' said Evelyn Walk. ``I don't know if they are absorbing any of it or not, but John takes them out and says `This is this and this is that.'''
When John Walk was a pediatrician, before he retired 11 years ago, he'd drive to Blacksburg on his day off and share the woods and fields with Joe Hardy, an expert on wildflowers and photography.
``Every Wednesday we used to go through the hills and track down and photograph wildflowers. It was something I'd look forward to every week.
``This has been one of the best years ever,'' adds Walk.
There has been an absence of harsh freezes as the days lengthen and the sun climbs higher, its rays striking the earth more directly with light and warmth. This awakens the wildflowers before the deciduous trees have time to spread a canopy of leaves above them.
Spring has been progressing like a colorful parade across the forest duff and greening fields: bloodroots and trout lilies yesterday, trilliums and spring beauties today, lady slippers a promise of tomorrow.
There are numerous spots nearby to observe this celebration. Sam Ellington names a few: Most anywhere you can park along the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Appalachian Trail, Carvins Cove, the Arcadia area of the Jefferson National Forest. The trick is simply to be aware of nature's banquet table of grace, beauty and color.
Ellington recalls seeing a grouping of yellow lady slippers, probably 30 of them, along the Appalachian Trail at Thunder Ridge.
``We met someone up at the shelter and asked them if they'd seen that clump of lady slippers. They said, `No.' It looks like when people get out and hike, one of the things they would like to know about is the flowers.''
There are ways for anyone to brighten his or her life with wildflowers, assures Dora Lee Ellington. Buy a pocket guide, like Peterson's Field Guide to Wildflowers. Join a wildflower pilgrimage, such as the one scheduled this weekend by the Science Museum (contact Miriam Langner, 342-5718 for information). Grow wildflowers on your own property.
by CNB