North House Folk School

There is no sweeter gift than the month of May. Here in the Northwoods, the winter months envelop us in their deep quiet and darkness, bidding us to slow down, rest, and retreat. The nights are long, the light is sparse, and the wind will bite if you’re not prepared. We bundle up and enjoy the stark beauty of the season, and then it's March and then it's April, and we hunker down and endure what some of us can no longer bring ourselves to enjoy. 

And then it's May. I am not being dramatic when I say that May on the North Shore feels like being reborn. That first warm breeze, the precious fuzz on the earliest willow buds, the long-awaited symphony of spring peepers is nothing short of sacred. It feels like the earth has been mustering all of the goodness and greenness just below the surface to finally burst forth in the most brilliant display of aliveness. It takes a moment for all of your senses to adjust to the sudden abundance after the long season of scarcity. 

Left: Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria); Right: Carolina Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana). 

The jewels of May are the spring ephemerals: woodland wildflowers that live their entire lifecycles between snow-melt and leaf-out. These hardy little plants sprout, blossom, and are pollinated in that brief window of direct sunlight available between the ground thawing and the leaves emerging in the forest canopy. 

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is my favorite of the spring ephemerals because when harvested responsibly, it can be used as a natural dye, as discovered by Indigenous peoples thousands of years ago. Some dear friends heard me mention bloodroot dye and offered to let me harvest from the patch growing on their hillside. I had only seen small patches before and was astounded to find their hillside absolutely carpeted in the delicate white flowers. It was a joy to have my hands in the dirt and unearth the quirky little rhizomes.

Another of my favorite spring ephemerals are the wild leeks, called Ramps (Allium tricoccum). The leaves and bulbs are edible and can be sauteed or grilled, or turned into seasoning salt, butter, or pesto! 

What an honor it is to enjoy the fleeting beauty and bounty of these wild plants. Now that the leaves on the trees have fully emerged, the Spring Beauties, Dutchman’s Breeches, Bloodroot, and Ramps have all completed their life cycles and lie dormant underground until they are ready to burst forth again next spring.

The emergence of these gifts of May has me thinking a lot about the seasonality of the Internship program. As an intern, I feel a bit like a spring ephemeral myself. When we arrived in Grand Marais in January, we were welcomed with open arms into a quiet but nurturing community. We spent the winter months “underground” learning the ropes at North House, getting to know our network of neighbors and friends, and pouring our energy into rooting in this place. With a solid foundation beneath us, we are ready to emerge into the bustling pace of Grand Marais in the summer. With many classes, seminars, and facilities shifts under our belts, we now burst forth as deckhands, pizza connoisseurs, and instructors!

As we approach the midway point of the internship, I am acutely aware that there will come an end to this season, as is the nature of all things. The pace of life will slow back down, we will return to the community that has nurtured us, and we will eventually leave this place in the dark and quiet of winter, the same way we arrived. For now, we will take our place in the sun, knowing our time here is fleeting and the gift of a lifetime.