"What are those red flowers?" I asked the park ranger at Vikingsholm, the Skandinavian castle on Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe. "Snow flowers," she replied. I became fascinated by the unusual red stems protruding leafless through the sandy soil left softened by the winter's snows. "What do they do after this stage?" I wondered, and she answered smartly: "They die."
I'll resist the urge to grasp at a methaphor about life at this point and say simply that these saprophytes are a uniquely beautiful manifestation of the fragility of spring. (OK, so that's a mouthful anyway. I feel a writing spurt coming on.)
My daughter Mindi enjoyed a late spring Memorial Day getaway with a couple of days at the lake. The crowds had yet to arrive. The weather was still, warm and sunny. Pure bliss.
We stopped in to the Camp Richardson stables and joined anoth
er pair for a ride to the hilltop and back. Our guide was hilarious, keeping up an entertaining narrative the entire time as we trusted the horses to pick their way carefully through the rocky terrain.
er pair for a ride to the hilltop and back. Our guide was hilarious, keeping up an entertaining narrative the entire time as we trusted the horses to pick their way carefully through the rocky terrain. I've been to Tahoe many times over the years, but I've never seen it so beautiful. I'm just sad we couldn't tour the inside of Vikingsholm, which opened the day after we visited, I beleive.
Well, life is fragile, and timing is everything.
1 comment:
Hi,
I went to that castle, it was quite a trek but I made it. Sure wished I had cmpany on my trip though! Wasn't that place breathtaking?
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