July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Providing promise of a coming spring (03/08/06)
Back in the Saddle
By By JACK RONALD-
It’s days like these that make me regret afternoons frittered away back in November.
At the time, of course, it didn’t feel as if I was wasting the afternoon.
There was college football to be watched on Saturdays and the NFL on Sundays.
And both seemed like pretty good choices at the time.
Now, however, sensing that spring lies just over the horizon, I wish I’d been planting bulbs last fall on at least one of those lazy afternoons.
There’s something magical about planting bulbs, digging down into that wet, fragrant soil that will soon be frozen and covered with snow.
Positioning a fist-like bulb in the ground, you cover its promise with dirt and maybe a little plant food and wait.
All winter long, after the temperature has dropped and the time for planting bulbs has passed, the promise is still being kept.
It’s being kept while you scrape the ice from your windshield.
It’s being kept while you decorate the Christmas tree. It’s being kept when you watch the ball drop for the new year.
It’s being kept no matter what winter throws at us in January and February.
Then, long about now, those first green shoots pop up, a striking contrast to the dead leaves and inevitable wind-deposited litter.
And soon, depending on the sunshine and the temperatures, they’ll bloom.
I’m partial to daffodils of various varieties and to narcissus. (I like them so much that it’s not unusual for me to buy bouquets from the Jay County Cancer Society even though the same flowers are blooming in my yard.)
Tulips, though they can be spectacular, fade rapidly and don’t proliferate the way daffodils often do.
My wife’s fond of crocuses and other early arrivals that aren’t as showy as daffodils but make their appearance earlier, taking the edge off the long winter.
But now, even though years of fall planting guarantee that our lawn have an abundant display of yellows and whites this spring, I’m still regretting that I didn’t plant a few more last fall.
Where would I put them?
I have no idea, but that doesn’t really matter.
After all, every winter needs as many promises as possible that springtime will be beautiful.[[In-content Ad]]
At the time, of course, it didn’t feel as if I was wasting the afternoon.
There was college football to be watched on Saturdays and the NFL on Sundays.
And both seemed like pretty good choices at the time.
Now, however, sensing that spring lies just over the horizon, I wish I’d been planting bulbs last fall on at least one of those lazy afternoons.
There’s something magical about planting bulbs, digging down into that wet, fragrant soil that will soon be frozen and covered with snow.
Positioning a fist-like bulb in the ground, you cover its promise with dirt and maybe a little plant food and wait.
All winter long, after the temperature has dropped and the time for planting bulbs has passed, the promise is still being kept.
It’s being kept while you scrape the ice from your windshield.
It’s being kept while you decorate the Christmas tree. It’s being kept when you watch the ball drop for the new year.
It’s being kept no matter what winter throws at us in January and February.
Then, long about now, those first green shoots pop up, a striking contrast to the dead leaves and inevitable wind-deposited litter.
And soon, depending on the sunshine and the temperatures, they’ll bloom.
I’m partial to daffodils of various varieties and to narcissus. (I like them so much that it’s not unusual for me to buy bouquets from the Jay County Cancer Society even though the same flowers are blooming in my yard.)
Tulips, though they can be spectacular, fade rapidly and don’t proliferate the way daffodils often do.
My wife’s fond of crocuses and other early arrivals that aren’t as showy as daffodils but make their appearance earlier, taking the edge off the long winter.
But now, even though years of fall planting guarantee that our lawn have an abundant display of yellows and whites this spring, I’m still regretting that I didn’t plant a few more last fall.
Where would I put them?
I have no idea, but that doesn’t really matter.
After all, every winter needs as many promises as possible that springtime will be beautiful.[[In-content Ad]]
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