There is a looker-on who sits behind my eyes.
It seems he has seen things in ages & worlds
beyond memory’s shore, & those forgotten sights
glisten on the grass and shiver on the leaves.
He has seen under new veils the face of the one
beloved, in twilight hours of many a nameless star.
Therefore his sky seems to ache with the pain of
countless meetings and partings, and a longing
pervades this spring breeze,
the longing that is full
of the whisper of ages without beginning.

~ Rabindranath Tagore

Maybe spring’s smothering blanket of pollen has addled my brain (or what’s left of it) but it’s harder to breathe, let alone think when you’re inhaling another snout-full of outside dust rolling on the spring breeze. Thick sticky yellow infiltrates the house, fills lungs, coats hair and cars. Last week, rain cleansed the cool night air. That was the first time I’d really been able to breathe for a month! Relief was fleeting—the sneezing, wheezing, and coughs returned once the sun popped out.

Poor River feels the burn, too. Dogs suffer with allergies to the yellow beast as much as some of us do. Chains of oak and pine pollen flutter in the wind, bringing sneezes and puffy red eyes as bad as a Saturday night hangover that never leaves. Today, after a mowing and weed-whacking battle and vanquished by pollen and sweat, I flopped down beside River and called it quits. If anyone would like free pollen, all you can handle, please let me know. Help yourself!

Saluda Welcome Table is every Tuesday. Dinner is served from 5:30 -7 p.m. in the fellowship hall of Saluda United Methodist Church. All are welcome; donations accepted.

Saluda Community Land Trust (SCLT) benefits from your donations or time as a volunteer for their many community projects. “Walks in the Woods” are on the first and third Sundays each month. Contact SCLT at 828-749-1560 or visit www.saludasclt.org.

Donations to help support Saluda Historic Depot can be sent to P.O. Box 990, Saluda, NC 28773 or on the HistoricSaluda.org website. Saluda Train Tales are held on the third Friday each month April through October. The Depot is open Thursday through Sunday, noon-4 p.m.

In recognition and celebration of the art community in Saluda during the month of May, the Saluda Historic Depot will present Saluda Art Legends – Past & Present. More than 17 artists will be represented in an exhibit in the depot with an opening reception May 7, 6:30- 8:30 p.m. Some work exhibited will be for sale and some will be on loan from family members. Fifty percent of the proceeds from sales will go toward the purchase of the depot and creation of a heritage and train museum.

Participating artists are: Joe Adams, Bonnie Bardos, Jim Carson, Judith Cheney, Mark Gardener, Marguerite Hankins, Charles Hearon, Bill Jameson, Anne Jameson, Sylvia Jones, Paul Koenen, Dale McEntire, Ray Pague, Beverly Pickard, Bill Ryan, Bunny Steffen and Johnny Waddill.

In art news: “Songs of the Earth,” featuring paintings by Bonnie Bardos at Tryon Depot, 22 Depot Street continues until May 16. The Saluda Arts Festival is May 21 with art, music, food and fun all day in Saluda. Volunteers are needed—shifts are only two hours. If interested, contact Tangie Morgan at ctangie@rsnet.org or 828-777-9158.

Happy April Birthday to: Martha Ashley, Melody Gibson, Dave Prudhomme, Kaye Vazquez, Cindy Keeter, Betty Anna Brown, Hope Pace, Diane Pace, Ruth Anderson, Greaton Sellers, Clay Arrington, Bonnie Bardos, Luther Connor, Gary Pace, Dee Owen, Doug Honeycutt, Niece Lundgren, Julie Roy, Tommy Williamson, and Rhonda Corley.

Saluda Sympathy goes to the family of Bobby Campbell. Bobby worked for Freeman Gas for many years, and even after he retired, I would call on him to get my gas stove ready for winter cold—he would get things fixed, and always had time for a chat. He will be missed.

Thank you dear readers, for reading this column; I love hearing from you! Whether you live here, or just wish you were here, the goal is to make you feel like you’re enjoying a front porch visit and small town life in a friendly little mountain town called Saluda. You can contact me at bbardos@gmail.com or 749-1153, visit bonniebardosart.com for more writing and art, or find me on Facebook.