Those who trek through the Pennsylvania woods during the spring will find many wildflowers, including these common blue violets.

There is an old saying that silence is golden, but, on a cool May morning, that meant trouble for a couple of old turkey hunters.

Uncle Fuzzy and I finally had freed up our schedules so we could get out into the woods or waterways. We had a choice of turkey hunting, or some trout or walleye fishing.

Uncle Fuzzy opted for the turkey hunting and we planned accordingly. We headed for a deep stretch of woodlands that had a series of old trails and the ruins of long gone homesteads. All that remained of the homes were a few foundation stones and rusting iron parts of old hardware.

The places that you find deep in the woods can be magical, and, if you let your imagination go, you almost can see the inhabitants doing their daily activities. Today it was silent — just like the gobblers that we were seeking. The long walk into the wilds did have a benefit because the prolific blooming of the wildflowers starts in May.

Most of us take little time to notice a wildflower because many are as small as they are beautiful. The only way to find them is to walk the woodlands, clearings and wetlands to find them.

Outdoors people are fortunate in that their pursuits make them frequent visitors to the habitat that these wildflowers call home.

On this day the turkeys were not cooperating, so we went to Plan B, which is to make the most of the situation at hand. We decided to look around the ruins and try to discover something about the past inhabitants.

It appeared to be a small cottage with a stone foundation and brick chimney. A small pile of coal was covered with raspberry canes and dried leaves. A small depression in the earth was full of broken glass and bottles from a long ago era.

Uncle Fuzzy was delighted to find a pint jar with a zinc lid intact, as well as a colorful roaster pan with a quarter-size hole in the bottom. He told me his wife would be thrilled to use the pan as a flower planter.

As for me, I found nothing that I wanted to carry out except images.

The woods were full of wild irises, common blue violets and spring beauties. A marshy area had trout lilies and mayapples abounding, as well as a colony of trilliums.

In the midst of all the blue violet clumps was a lone yellow violet that stood out in glorious contrast. I couldn’t disturb them or try to pick them because it just wouldn’t be right. I was in their silent place and was allowed to share in their part of nature’s beauty.

The ferns were beginning to unfurl and the mossy rocks were a brilliant hue of green that no human designer could match. This was a perfect setting that was passed over by time and people. Man tried to make it a homestead, but nature reclaimed it.

I decided to take photographs to help me remember that when winter fades this is the gift nature presents as spring.

So, in honor of Mother’s Day, I want to share nature’s beauty and the wildflowers and greenery in their finest.

If you can take a walk along a trail in the woods or along a stream, I am sure you will find many living botanical treasures to admire. A good book to use as a reference is the “Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers.”

I suggest you use the Eastern Region copy that is matched to our habitat. I use our copy regularly and have discovered the names of dozens of plants that in the past I only knew as some kind of pretty flower.

As you get more in tune with the guide, you will find yourself knowing what flowers grow in each type of soil conditions. A journal. picture log or sketchbook of your findings is a perfect way to honor of nature and mothers.

Jay E. Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.