desolate in the bleakness of winter , the secluded notch where amy mccallum 's ramshackle cabin perched among the laurels was a blaze of color and life in spring and summer-so vivid that even his worry could n't stop his noticing the blaze of pinks and reds , interrupted by soft patches of creamy dogwood and carpets of bluets , their tiny blue flowers nodding on slender stems above the torrent of the stream that bounded down beside the rocky trail .