The Wonder, Joy, and Hope of May

In this month of May, planting seeds and seeing if anything grows, are expressions of hope. We do not know what will result or if we will ever see that result. Hope inspires our plantings. And as we plant seeds in the ground, as we plant seeds in the people around us, and as we allow seeds to be planted in us, we proclaim our values: community, respect, empathy, compassion, love. In the words below, other PARA members share their thoughts on the gifts, the abundance, the wonder, the joy, and the hope of May.

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Loving Soil – One Story

It all began for me on an autumn day five years ago. I had just finished closing down some garden beds I maintain at a friend’s plot. Over the course of an hour or two, I hadn’t realized the energetic blossoming that my body had become imbued with by having my hands in the soil until I began to leave the property.

As I did, I happened to have a very lively conversation with a then medical student who lived at the adjacent house. That conversation continued occasionally over time until the last connection I had with that person a few years later. The fruition of that memorable afternoon was to receive a picture from her of her new family and her angelic baby.

The bodily experience of my hands in rich, cool loamy soil was so enjoyable I wanted to have my hands in the soil as often as possible- like every day. I had a birthday soon after that fall day and so asked a very good friend who is an organic farmer whether I might get a sample from her land. She provided a generous 5-gallon bucket of it, and I have used it, and later variations of it from my own backyard, as part of my regular spiritual practice since then.

I keep it in a large tote all year long, inside during the winter and when I engage it, I feel a visceral embodied joy, passion, release and creative empowerment that has no equal. I love the soil and all the Life it births.

~ Tim McGowan

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A Few Words About Spring

Colors!! The eyes, the heart, the body rejoice in the colors of the greening of the woods. The sun has a different quality that lights it all up when the sun shines. The flowers contribute to the magical display. Really, what else is there to say?

~ Padme Livingstone

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The Gifts of Spring

For each season I am touched by different aspects of nature’s gifts. Going to Highland Park is such a special gift to me – where I could go almost every day and see something new!

As life is beginning to come alive again this spring, I find my heart soaring every time I walk by a tree or bush and see the tiny buds emerging! What has looked dead is not! It is coming alive again – and every time I walk by its buds are getting bigger!

This transformation in nature is such a powerful reminder of the power of Life – as I allow nature to teach me lessons of patience, trust and going with the flow (trees can’t force their way into blossoming! – they just allow nature to come it its own time!). I am so excited to watch the blossoming of so many different species, each in its own time!

We're all called to plant seeds, though we may not know if or how it will sprout, blossom or bear fruit. (one of my lessons in spring)

Wonder opens our heart to our connection to the fullness of life!! And our part in co-creating the loving world we envision.

~ Sue Staropoli

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Nature’s Abundance

Having planted a native food forest on our quarter acre in Brighton in 2022 (at least, my husband, Jonathan Cloud, did that) and never having gardened before that—not a shred of interest in outdoor planting up until then— spring is an entirely new experience for me.

Every year I am blown away, fascinated by nature’s abundance, up close and personal.

Finally, this year, I am recognizing and systematically pulling invasive species, so they don’t out-compete the native perennials we’ve acquired from our local native plant growers at events like the first annual Color Your Community Green Native Plant Sale on June 6th from 10am to 1 pm at Buckland Park. See you there, and at other springtime events!

~ Victoria Zelin-Cloud

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Sometimes All It Takes Is a Seed.

On April 28, 2026, I visited the Seneca Park Zoo for their Earth Day Celebration. At one point I watched as a representative from the Rochester Museum and Science Center explained the concept of runoff to a youngster, who appeared to be about five years old. As the child stood wide eyed next to their parent, the Museum representative used a relief map/diorama to show how inappropriate materials washed through the storm drain and flowed into the lake. Among these inappropriate materials were agricultural pesticides, and oil.  The youngster also learned about turning off the water while brushing teeth and was given a brochure about other ways to be a hometown water hero. And thus, a seed was planted.  

In the movie, Happy Feet, Robin Williams plays a penguin who gets a plastic six pack can ring stuck on his neck. The risk to the character would have been prevented if someone had cut the holes before discarding it.  While this was not the first time, I was made aware of this issue, still, a seed was planted. Every plastic can ring I discard is cut so that it does not risk landing around the neck of a penguin or other creature.

Watching the children at the Zoo on Earth Day I saw many seeds being planted— a presentation next to the otter area talked about the risk of plastics entering the waterways and negatively impacting the otters, as well as the importance of not littering. At another booth, children were invited to take seeds for pollinator gardens and trees. For the first time in several years the polar bear made an appearance, swimming and playing with a purple ball. I, and others watched in wonder.

Every table, every booth, offered opportunities for learning about nature and protecting the environment.  In the same way, every animal at this park represents the chance for people to see each one up close, to get to know them.  Some may say that the only thing a zoo does is to put wildlife in cages; but it is so much more than that. It is a door opening to learning and to wonder.  In many ways, it is an ark as well. Every species, the zoo preserves, keeps us a few steps further away from watching that creature become extinct, and from watching us face the same fate. 

In each encounter, the wonder, the joy, the hope abounds. This hope, this wonder, this joy is not about looking for some pre-ordained result but from the belief that out of joy, wonder, and hope, anything can happen, even a child learning a life-long lesson on how to protect waterways on a sunny Saturday at the zoo.

~ Patricia Woehrlen