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Springtime in the Appalachian mountains is a magical experience. The buds on the trees are beginning burst into shades of light green. Little tiny flowers appear on the edges of the forest. A mockingbird is singing close by. He is like the person at every party that only knows the chorus of each song and blends them all together into one song. He’s the mix DJ of the woods. (mockingbird calls)

Several yards/meters away something scurries through the duff of the forest floor. I look over that direction and a chipmunk pops out from under a fallen tree. He squeaks out a chirp of disapproval at me for blocking his path and vanishes back into his hole. That’s when I noticed the Carolina Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) modestly occupying the ground at my feet. The crom was one of the favorite foods for Native Americans. Although I have never tried them I do consider them as part of my survival garden along with the wild wood violets that are almost as thick as the grass in my yard.

I knelt down to address this tiny beauty queen who didn’t shy away from my camera and took her portrait. She smiled warmly and with a subtle nod granted approval for me to share the picture with you tonight.

We normally use the term mending fences when referring to a relationship that needs to be repaired. I’ve always heard the phrase but never really thought about it until today.

Growing up on a farm I had relatively few responsibilities. I had severe allergic reactions to hay that disqualified me from a lot of farming tasks. And, that left a lot of time to walk the fence line on the back of property and look for problems. You learn a few things when there’s nobody to talk to but birds and cows.

The first thing you figure out is that if it’s important to you then keep it close. When that relationship was new you never wanted that person out of your sight. They were very important to you. When you were together the world was very small.

Next, you learn that if something is important to you, you need to keep the predators out. I’ve mentioned in a few comments that I consider myself a decent tracker. Most of those skills didn’t come from hunting as much as it did being on the lookout for predators that might harm the cattle. In a relationship, there will be predators that are after that valued person. Now, sometimes it’s a rival person but not always. That person normally arrives after the damage is done. In nature our investment is attacked more by pests than coyotes and cougars. In a relationship there’s the daily assault on the connection by little pesky habits and situations that weaken us to the point where the relationship is easy prey for larger danger.

Lastly, it’s much easier to maintain a fence than it is to repair one. Keep the tools handy be ready to patch or prop up any weak places as they are spotted. A sagging fence will let your investment walk right out. In a relationship you should always be ready and equipped to maintain the connection.

Relationship doesn’t necessarily mean romance. Anyone you have interaction with is a relationship. It can be a lover, a friend, a customer or just someone who passes you on the street and waves hello. All of these connections are emotional investments of one degree or another. All have value and all are worth keeping in good shape.

I have just realized that while most of my Facebook followers have seen my little buddy Scout very few of blog followers have. I have mentioned him in several comments and decided that it’s time to put a face with the name. So here’s Scout’s story.

My wife and I had been on vacation for a little more than a week and when we got home she decided to check the front porch for an expected delivery. What we found instead was this half-starved puppy. He was in pretty rough shape. He was malnourished and full of parasites. We think that he may have been abused at one point because of his behavior. He had dug up the flowers out of the flower pot and made himself a little bed on the front porch. I told Angie that if he was there in the morning we were keeping him and sure enough he stayed the night. There was a quick trip to the vet to get rid of the parasites and get him back to health and he’s been with us ever since. He’s pretty smart, we had him house broken in a few days. Now he spends his days with his new family watching Star Trek on TV.

Of course as smart as he is this also means that now he thinks he can mind meld like a Vulcan.

Our thoughts are one. You must share your peanut butter sandwiches. It’s only logical to feed the dog.

Scout is a ladies man.

Mostly, Scott just spends his time resting or playing with toys. He’s a very spoiled doggie now!