Of Wildflowers, Beer Bottles, and Unexpected Gifts

Cooler weather last week made for some good wildflower hunts. We were able to add several species to our list. One walk in particular was so surreally enjoyable and the girls were so interested in every new flower we came across, that for a little while there I felt like Charlotte Mason or Anna Comstock, taking the children on an outdoor excursion in the nearby wood..... all I needed was a British accent and some long skirts to swish in the grass.

We also found a LOT of trash. Walking down a quarter-mile stretch of road near our house, the girls' most frequent comments (or to be more accurate, indignant exclamations) were ...

"Look, there's another beer bottle!" and "Hey, here's another medicine bottle!"

Mine of course, was "DON'T TOUCH THAT!!"

The girls were shocked and disgusted that people would intentionally throw trash out of their vehicles. I was just disgusted. I've been around long enough to know that in East Tennessee any length of fairly isolated road is seen by many as a public dumpster. I had even brought along a garbage bag, having noticed the litter from my car for awhile, and we did collect some trash, but the vast majority was several feet off the road in some pretty snaky looking vegetation.
Now I will admit I have a somewhat hypervigilant snake radar..... I think my yard looks snaky if it hasn't seen a lawnmower in a couple of weeks.... but I wasn't in the mood to conquer any fears that day, so I promised the girls if they would remind me this winter , I'll come back and pick up every piece of trash on that road.

We did see some beautiful wildflowers though. The goldenrod is gorgeous now, and one of my favorite wildflowers, the chicory is still blooming.

While we were walking, the mail lady passed us on her route and we waved. About 10 yards past us she stopped and started slowly backing up. When she reached us, she stopped and held out two pieces of bubblegum.
"For them", she said smiling.
For some reason, this touched me deeply.
Maybe it was because her small act of human kindness was in such contrast to the ugly byproducts of humanity we we had witnessed on our walk. Maybe it was because the girls were starting to get hot and tired and bored, and the offer of bubblegum brought out the life in them again. Maybe the whole thing felt like a public service ad for Little Things That Make A Difference In Your Community.
Whatever the reason, emotion welled up in me until, for a fleeting moment, I wanted to hold hands with the mail lady, and lead us all in a chorus of "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing". Fortunately, I was able to channel that impulse into a more subdued "Thank you SO much! Wasn't that nice, girls?"

Isn't if funny how your perspective can change in the few seconds it takes to hand a kid a piece of bubblegum?

See my analysis of the world at large both before and after our little encounter with the mail lady.

BEFORE: People are low-life scum who knowingly turn the beauty of creation into a steaming heap of filth.

AFTER: People are sweet, generous, smiling, images of God, who are never too busy to slow down and back up for another human being.

Ah yes, children, we have learned much today.... of nature, and that not only, but of man as well.

Can you hear my British accent? ; )