Tuesday, April 8, 2008

At last....Daffodils!


The daffodils seemed to be sulking in the bud stage for weeks this year.... in protest, I think, of the cold weather and lack of sunshine.



They finally decided to brave the world the first week in April, 2-3 weeks behind a normal year. Not only has this Spring has been unusually cold, but we've also had some pretty erratic weather.




We had a heavy snowfall a couple of weeks ago, with some of the largest flakes I've ever seen...some up to an inch across. It was really quite beautiful, in spite of coming out of season. Fortunately, it melted away very quickly.




The daffodils survived this HAIL a few days ago, with some stones over a half inch in diameter. The sun was shining one minute, then the hailstorm came.....and ten minutes later the sun was shining again.


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To an Early Daffodil

Thou yellow trumpeter of laggard Spring!
Thou herald of rich Summer's myriad flowers!
The climbing sun with new recovered powers
Does warm thee into being, through the ring
Of rich, brown earth he woos thee, makes thee fling
Thy green shoots up, inheriting the dowers
Of bending sky and sudden, sweeping showers,
Till ripe and blossoming thou art a thing
To make all nature glad, thou art so gay;
To fill the lonely with a joy untold;
Nodding at every gust of wind to-day,
To-morrow jewelled with raindrops. Always bold
To stand erect, full in the dazzling play
Of April's sun, for thou hast caught his gold.

Amy Lowell

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Welcome to April...and daffodils...and sunshine!!


6 comments:

Cheryl said...

Love the prose, it is beautiful.

Daffodils never cease to cheer the heart and touch the soul. The snow created another dimension. Lovely.

Catherine said...

Thank you, thank you for the inspiration ...and the 'host of golden daffodils', as William Wordsworth says, which is what my students are memorizing. You are one of those true blues, Connie. Love and blessings to you! C.

Beth said...

Hi Connie:
You're missing out on more of the North Dakota snow! Just when everything is melted - they are predicting another winter storm this weekend (Minneapolis will be hit worse). And my monarda was already breaking through the ground!

Hope all is well. Love the daffodils.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Wow, those are big hail stones, it is a miracle your daffodils have survived such an onslaught!

Melissa said...

Our bulbs are just starting to poke up little fingers. We have had an soaking int winter mix that ranges between almost rain to heavy sleet to small hail like pellets.

I don't know if the fingers that I see will amount to much. I've been battling a mole and so far, he is winning.

Catherine said...

Beautiful poem! And pictures are beautiful also, even the shot of the daffodil covered in snow! Those are big hail stones! ~Nice capture!
Have a great week!
Cat