First Day Of Skunk Cabbage

Day 160: In my personal almanac, the First Day of Skunk Cabbage is one of the most major events of the year. It's a "moveable feast," arriving with an element of surprise when I see the first glimmer of yellow in the roadside bogs.

Y'see, Skunk Cabbage was my mother's favorite flower, and each spring, she would cut a single spathe, place it in a vase and allow its unique odor to permeate the house. There's a reason they call it "Skunk Cabbage," and trust me, one was plenty for my young nose. Later in life, I learned that the roots were edible (if perhaps a little too high in oxalic acid to be good for you in quantity) and in fact, I used to prepare the tuber like zucchini, adding tomatoes and onions for a medley. Perhaps that helped me accustom myself to the odor. While I still regard it as "skunky," it no longer offends my olfactory sensibilities as it once did.

Gustatorial adventures aside, Skunk Cabbage announces spring more surely for me than any field of daffodils or drift of crocuses. Spring, my friends, is truly here!