Signs of Spring

“It is spring again.
The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke

 

It feels like it is officially Spring now!  The apple trees are in full bloom and are absolutely beautiful. It is hard for me to imagine how one tree can be covered by so many blossoms at the same time.

I have to keep reminding myself that these blossoms should be enjoyed fully right now. Like so many things in life, they will not last. It won’t be long and a breeze will pluck them from the tree and they will float down in a soft rain of pink petals. They might be fleeting, but they are truly a wonderful gift while they last.

I decided to take advantage of the gift and took the time to wander through my backyard and see what other signs of spring I could find. It was kind of a mini scavenger hunt and it was a refreshment for the soul.

The other day my husband discovered this robin’s nest in one of our White Pine evergreen trees. I thought, as the nest was not so far up the tree, I should attempt to capture a picture of them before they get to big.

Mama Robin was not really impressed with me getting close enough to photograph them. In fact I think I made her downright crabby! She kept a very watchful eye on me from her perch on my garden fence and the minute I backed away she went right back to the nest to make sure everything was okay.

One of my favorite perennials around here is the bleeding heart bush I planted two years ago. It was a tiny slip of a plant when I put it in the ground. I remember putting a small fence around it to protect it from the rabbits and the chickens.  I babied that plant along with the hope that it would survive and someday bloom.

The rabbits probably would have eaten it if they had a chance and the chickens definitely would have scratched around the plant and totally destroyed it. (Things you learn living out here!) It is best not to leave tender seedlings exposed to rabbits and chickens.

I kind of think I love bleeding hearts because they are such an old fashioned flower. They are a plant I remember my Grandma having in her flower garden. It is also great it is a perennial…..I love the fact they come back year after year. There is something comforting about a plant that keeps coming back even after the harsh Iowa winters.

When you look at a  field of dandelions you can either see a hundred weeds or a hundred wishes  – Unknown

 

There is one other “perennial” that we seem to have in abundance……the Dandelion. For many years I fought a battle with those bright yellow flowers. I tried spraying them, digging them out and mowing them off….constantly. Nothing stopped them from coming back.

Since those years I have come to a truce with the dandelion. I discovered one morning while pondering those dandelions that is was better to let them grow. I found that my lawn was filled with bright yellow gold finches. They were feasting on the dandelions that had gone to seed.

I decided at that time that I would never have a lawn that makes the front cover of a landscape magazine. I also decided that if I couldn’t have that kind of lawn I would have one that invited wildlife to come and have some lunch. To be very honest it was much more fun watching all those finches hopping around my yard than it would have been to see only green smooth grass.

I have also seen magazine articles about all the wonderful things you can do with a dandelion…..I have not tried any of them….yet. They say (I am not sure who “they” are) that you can eat the leaves in salads. I do wonder if they would taste good or if they would be kind of bitter?  I also have a friend who has made dandelion wine. (I do wonder how many blossoms she had to pick to make that gallon of wine.)

Those yellow blooms bring back great childhood memories of picking fistfuls to bring to my mom. The downside of that was that our hands were stained for days with the stuff that oozed out of those stems and onto our hands. Fortunately, as a kid, we were not too concerned with dirty stained hands.

It is a wonderful thing to be able to look at that bright yellow bloom and let your mind wander back to that time called childhood. What brings back those wonderful childhood memories for you? For me it is Spring with it’s yellow dandelions and the wonder of blue robin’s eggs hatching into baby birds.

 

The day the Lord created hope
was probably the same day he created Spring.
Bernard Williams
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