Signs of spring are slowly beginning to sprout (03/13/06)

Spring must be getting close. One of my houseplants spent the afternoon outdoors last week. It seems that I had missed it in my weekly watering circuit and it was looking quite bedraggled. I left it outside as my way of apologizing to it. I have to remember to bring it in tonight as it won’t survive if I don’t.

Another sign of spring is that the pre-Christmas projects are finally getting wrapped up. I realize that most people finish Christmas projects before the holiday but what fun is that? After Christmas the winter doldrums hit and I have no desire to work on anything. When the first spring breeze beckons I get a burst of energy that results in a bunch of projects getting wrapped up at once.

There have been a few days lately when it was just too nice to stay indoors. I have started cleaning out flower beds and cutting down the remnants of last year’s plants. On really nice days I have been patrolling the flower beds searching for anything that may be blooming. Last week I was rewarded with the sight of one tiny iris reticulata and three winter aconites.

Iris reticulata looks like a minuscule iris that is only about an inch high but still manages to be perfect in every way. Winter aconites are cup-shaped and sit atop a frilly collar of leaves. These flowers are the color of summer sunshine and stand out among the dried leaves of last year’s weeds. I was hoping that the winter aconite would multiply and turn into a carpet of yellow but so far it hasn’t happened.

The snowdrops are out but they haven’t been brave enough to unfurl their petals just yet. The snow crocus know that winter isn’t over and refuse to bloom until later in the month. I was always in a silent competition with the house down the street. It belonged to a gardener whose crocuses would bloom a day before mine. When I finally found some that would blossom before his did he moved away.

I am always surprised at how hardy flowers are despite their fragile appearance. Bunnies nibble on the first brave leaves and a late snow blankets them at least once before they turn their blossoms to the sky. I have seen daffodils appear to be frozen solid one day then the very next warm afternoon they are swaying in the breeze bringing smiles to passersby.

St. Patrick’s Day is this Friday. It ushers in the beginning of the spring holidays (if you don’t count Mardi Gras). The holiday brings pleasant memories of my step-father dancing in the kitchen with my mother. It was his favorite holiday. I have no idea how he had enough energy to dance after a hard day at work.

Then after St. Pat’s Day comes an abundance of that early spring treat - hollow chocolate Easter bunnies! I confess. I have already indulged in one of the crumbly creatures and he was delicious! Chewy marshmallow Peeps® are waiting to be sent in my granddaughter’s first Easter basket, unless they meet the same fate as that bunny. I think she will enjoy the Peter Rabbit book a lot more than the Peeps® but one never knows.

The rolls of fat on her chubby baby thighs suggest that she might have been into the Easter candy already. Her mommy only thinks she hasn’t had solid food yet. Wait - does Easter candy count as solid food?

If you are wondering, no, the doll from last week’s column hasn’t been found. If you will recall my daughter’s three-year-old niece, Kaila, lost her baby doll, Crystal. A new Crystal has been substituted but the child is suspicious because the doll’s head doesn’t turn in exactly the same way as the old one did. However the panic that ensued when it was discovered that Crystal was missing is beginning to subside.

Disasters are like that. We may fall apart and panic at the time but eventually we adapt and cope with whatever life hands us. Then nature adds a perfect spring day and things are all right with the world.[[In-content Ad]]