Ep 245 - What the Roadside Reveals: Lesson of Belief

A roadside walk becomes a lesson in tending what doesn’t belong—and trusting what quietly blooms.

From plogging to snowdrops, this episode explores how small actions and nature’s signs guide us back to hope, healing, and the “lesson of belief.”

In this episode, Mary Stone shares how a roadside walk became a lesson in tending both the outer and inner worlds. What began as noticing litter turned into a practice of care—picking up what doesn’t belong, much like weeding the undesirables in the garden of life.

Along the way, snowdrops appear as if overnight, a snapping turtle tests the thaw, and a quiet realization emerges: The Lesson of the Leaf may also be… The Lesson of Belief.

Perhaps they are one and the same.

Thank you for tuning in—and for walking alongside me.

Link to the Companion Blog Post: Early Spring Reflections: What the Roadside Reveals About Belief

🌿 Related Episodes & Stories

If this episode resonated, you'll also enjoy:

• Ep. 244 – A Late Winter Walk to Remember 
• Ep. 129 – Saving Snapping Turtles Lifts Spirits 
• Ep. 98 – Winter Flowers and Folklore 

More reflections: https://askmarystone.com

Small moments matter.
 Nature speaks—if we pause to listen.
 And even after disruption… growth returns.

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

Transcript

Ep 245 What the Roadside Reveals - Lesson of Belief 

Sat, Mar 21, 2026 6:04PM • 12:55

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Garden dilemmas, nature inspirations, roadside trash, plogging, snowdrops, spring renewal, lesson of belief, dog companionship, early spring growth, daffodils, boulder wall, Canada geese, snapping turtle, garden of life, community support.

SPEAKERS

Mary Stone

Mary Stone  00:00

Mary, Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone, and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens. It's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other, we have lots to talk about. 

Mary Stone  00:23

Hello there. It's Mary Stone, the day after a misty March morning on the screen porch. Today, it's cold. It was 26 degrees when I got up, and now it's about 32. March has its fluctuations in temperature, that is for sure. I sure missed you last week, and I'm grateful to be with you today. Thank you to those who reached out after our last episode, A Late Winter Walk to Remember. Your kind words meant more than you know. When I sent my recent newsletter of blog posts to my email list. By the way, you can join the community, just sign up for free on AskMaryStone.com. I received a note from a dear client, Kathleen. She wrote, today, I'm grateful for Jolie with a little red heart. I'm sure she was reflecting on the wisdom of dogs. They embrace whatever comes next and live completely in the present moment. There's something beautiful about that, I have to say. Kathleen has a very old dog, such a beautiful boy. I hope she still has him, but if not, I'm sure he lives on in her heart. 

Mary Stone  01:36

In the last episode, I shared how walking in the rain sometimes feels like Grace, the quiet rhythm of raindrops falling through the trees, the forest canopy sheltering you from above, the sense that whatever your heart is carrying has room to breathe. That morning, as the rain touched my face, I felt God sharing tears of understanding with me, and beside me was Jolie, my faithful companion. Dogs don't require explanations. They walk beside us, accepting whatever the day holds. We can learn so much from them. 

Mary Stone  02:11

Recently, while walking along the road near my home, I re-listened to the episode. They say writers often share what they themselves need to learn. I believe that's true. This journey together in the Garden of Life has taught me more than I ever expected, and I can't thank you enough for sharing this time with me. As I walked and listened to the episode, I began noticing something else along the roadside - trash that turned into an inspiration. And it starts like this.

Mary Stone  02:43

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Some walks happen deep in the woods, where the quiet invites reflection. Other walks take place along country roads, where the stories are different, but no less revealing. Jolie and I often walk along the road near my home. It's not the prettiest time of year. When the snow melts each spring, it reveals what winter politely covered up —cans and bottles and bits of debris tossed from passing vehicles. Interestingly, many of the items are containers that once held alcohol, spiked Seltzer, light beer cans, and tiny bottles of cinnamon whiskey, just are all over the place around here. Seeing them makes me wonder about the stories behind them. Were they tossed intentionally to hide a habit from someone at home? Or discarded without thought, ending up in roadside drainage systems or lingering in the woods, perhaps even harming wildlife. For years, seeing litter along the road used to frustrate me, but somewhere along the way, my reaction changed. Now I bring a bag with me and pick it up as I walk. I've learned that tending to small things helps steady the heart during unsettled times. Picking up what doesn't belong reminds us that we can make the world a little better, even when life feels messy or uncertain. 

Mary Stone  04:07

I didn't realize that when I began this routine, it was when Miss Ellie could no longer walk the roads with me, a few months before she passed away in August of 2020, that there was a name for it. If you're jogging, it's called plogging. If you're walking, plucking hiking, that's plking. Now I've mastered walking a dog and picking up trash at the same time. Whatever the name. I've come to think of it as a bit like weeding the garden. Instead of being angry about the undesirables in the Garden of Life, you simply remove them. There's something surprisingly satisfying about being part of a solution. Don't you agree? It makes you feel less helpless. Imagine if each of us picked up just a few pieces of trash along our daily routes, one neighborhood at a time, the world would be a little tidier. 

Mary Stone  04:58

Of course, the roadside offers beautiful things too, especially as spring begins to unfold. We had an unusual couple of days recently when the temperatures jumped up into the high 70s. As if on cue, the snowdrops popped out along the edge of the road. One day, they weren't there. The next day, they were. Those delicate white flowers, galianthus, push through winter's last crust of frost like tiny nodding bells. Sometimes they're called Candlemas bells, blooming near the early February holiday that celebrates light returning to the world. 

Mary Stone  05:36

There's even a lovely legend that after Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden. The angel created snowdrops to reassure Eve that winter would not last forever, symbols of hope as the first flowers appear. I've often wondered how the ones along the road arrive there. Perhaps someone planted them (though it seems unlikely), or maybe birds moved the bulbs, or maybe angels scattered them. No matter how they arrived, seeing them always lifts my heart. Nature has a way of delivering encouragement exactly when we need it. Whenever I see them, I'm reminded that hope often appears quietly. 

Mary Stone  06:20

Jolie had her own moment of enthusiasm on one of those warm days. She suddenly dropped and rolled in a spot where Miss Ellie used to do the same thing. It was one of those reminders that life moves forward while still holding the memories of those we love. 

Mary Stone  06:36

A little further along the road, we passed a pond the center was still covered with a thin layer of ice, but the edges had melted in the warmth. There, slowly moving through the weeds, was a hand-sized snapping turtle, as if checking to see whether spring had truly arrived. Is the coast clear yet? I couldn't get a photo of the little guy, but it made me think of my beloved brother Bill, who always had an affinity for turtles. 

Mary Stone  07:07

The Canada geese seem to be conducting their own inspections, too. Their calls overhead these mornings announce that ponds and lakes are reopening for landings. Meanwhile, other signs of growth are appearing. Daffodil foliage is pushing through the soil in my front garden despite the recent upheaval caused by the construction of a new boulder wall, replacing the old telephone poles. I just love my new boulder wall. It's so beautiful. Some bulbs were disturbed during the work. So it will be fun to see where they decide to emerge this year. Gardens, like life, have a way of rearranging themselves. Lately, I'm reminded that even when life rearranges more than we expect, something hopeful is waiting just beneath the surface. And perhaps that's one of the wisdoms early spring offers us. After disruption, growth returns, sometimes in the most unexpected places. Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com.

Mary Stone  08:11

As I walked this morning, dictating notes into my phone as I often do, something curious happened that I wanted to tell you about. I was talking about the book I've been working on for quite some time, The Lesson of Leaf, at least that's what I intended to say. But the voice-to-text on my phone had other ideas. Instead of 'lesson of the leaf,' it typed 'lesson of belief.' Another time, it typed 'lesson of relief.' And I had to laugh. Maybe they're all the same thing, I thought to myself. 

Mary Stone  08:42

And then there was another magical moment, at least. I like to think of it as such. While I was reviewing the transcript from my previous episode, I used Otter AI to transcribe, and I noticed something. It was so funny. A small portion of the transcript was highlighted in gold and yellow, and I did not do that. And these were the words: you know, as I'm sharing this with you, I realize this is the end of my book. This is the end of the lesson of the leaf, not that the story will ever truly end, but I want to thank you for inspiring me to bring it to a close. So that was a comment I made in the last episode, and seeing those words highlighted just felt like a quiet nudge. I god-incidence, perhaps as if the message were saying, yes, it's time, and you'll be the first to know when the self-published version is ready. Thank you, my dear listeners. 

Mary Stone  09:18

As spring unfolds, I'm noticing other signs of renewal around my home as well. A few days ago, a small bird was pecking on the metal hanger still holding the winter wreath on the front door. I suspect the little one, perhaps a sparrow, was seeing its reflection and thinking it was another bird, maybe even considering the wreath as a nesting spot down the road a piece. Then yesterday, another little bird joined in the ritual. I watched this for a long time, and I snapped a photo from the inside, but then I decided it was better to remove that wreath before a nest could form. Had it been made of natural materials, I would have moved it to a tree to serve as a nesting place. 

Mary Stone  10:19

I wanted to mention that many of the daffodil bulbs are from the garden of my dear friend and design colleague, Marty Carson, who passed away in November. Her garden lives on here. So many perennials I cherish came from her. Every spring, when the daffodils bloom, I feel as though her spirit is blooming with them.

Mary Stone  10:40

 Yes, indeed, spring is testing the waters, and perhaps so are we. Sometimes the road reveals what we'd rather not see, but it also reminds us that small actions matter. A piece of litter removed, snowdrops emerging, a turtle testing the thaw. So thanks so much for visiting with me on this cold screen porch. I have had a dog staring at me, Miss Jolie. I gotta say hello. I want you to say hello too. I hope she howls. It's a routine that she has when she says hello,

Mary Stone  11:18

Hi, Jolie. Would you talk to my listeners? Come on. Say something. Come on. Do your howl? Come on. Jolie, say something. Oh, she's not doing it. Never on cue. Jolie what? What did you say?

Mary Stone  11:37

Dogs are such good friends living in the now. So anyway, thank you, my kind listeners, for joining me on this cold screen porch. I want to, again, invite you to write me at Ask Mary stone@gmail.com or through the social links. I love hearing from you, and I can't thank you enough again for your kind support. And yours too, Jolee. I will do my best to be with you next week, but if not, I'll be with you the following week, so we'll keep the rhythm. I hope you enjoy the day. I hope you enjoy all the little deeds that you can do to make our lives a little neater, a little kinder, and let us all be kind to each other in this garden of life. See you next time on the screen porch. 

Mary Stone  12:23

You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at GardenDilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch, and always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.