The flower beds are just emerging from the snow. We haven’t gotten them cleaned up yet. We had a strange autumn last year - or a strange lack of an autumn. Whatever happened, we returned from a summer sabbatical with a lot of work to get accomplished and some of our normal yard work just went by the wayside. So we’ve got quite a bit to do this spring as we get ready for summer. We’re lucky to live in a neighborhood where there isn’t an expectation that everyone have manicured lawns. We’re on the edge of the forest and different people have different standards tor landscaping and lawn care. We’re about middle of the road for our neighborhood. We’re not the house that people point to saying, “Well at least my place isn’t as bad as that.” Nor are we the folks with a lawn likely to get noticed by the master gardeners. I keep the lawn mower sharpened and the grass a reasonable length. We have a few flowers and most years we plant a vegetable garden. We love to spend time outside and we have a large deck where you can find us in the mornings and evenings whenever the weather is warm.

I came home after a long day’s work yesterday and found that most of the snow had melted. there were little patches here and there, but it is hard to believe that we had five or six inches of snow yesterday morning. It really warmed up and melted off fast.

One of the daffodils was simply tired of winter and decided that we needed a blossom to lift our spirits. It certainly put a smile on my face as I climbed the front steps wondering what to fix for my supper. In our previous homes, crocus or grape hyacinth were the first flowers of the spring, but in this neighborhood, both would be eaten by the deer before there are any blossoms. I planted crocus and tulips the first autumn we were in the house, but we quickly learned that our four legged neighbors thought that we planted them for their tasty flavor and didn’t see any reason to wait for the blossoms to appear. They leave the daffodils and iris alone for the most part, so we have to wait just a bit longer for blossoms to appear in the yard.

The surprise blossom made me wonder if this might be a year when we basically don’t have much of a spring, but go directly from winter into summer. It has happened before, especially in years when we have had late spring blizzards. This isn’t the latest we have had snow, but there are plenty of years when we’re pretty much done with frost by the beginning of May. After having gone from summer to winter without much of an autumn, I have visions of our climate shifting to a two-season location instead of a four-season place, but I think that’s not likely. South Dakota is really a good place to experience all four seasons. Sometimes we get all four in the same day!

One of the things I like about spring is that it is irrepressible. The birds are back and they’re going to sing whether or not there is snow on the ground. The flowers are poking their buds out of the ground and getting ready to bloom regardless of the weeds and debris that needs to be cleared. Spring comes despite winter’s chilliest winds. A daffodil blossom on the day after a snowstorm seems like a defiant act of hope. And I like defiant hope. I like hope that cannot be suppressed.

In a week or a little bit more, we’ll have enough daffodils to bring a bouquet inside to freshen up our dining table, but right now, I have no urge to cut the blossom. It seems to belong outside. I want to see if by tomorrow it is pointing up a little bit straighter than it is today.

Like most of the folks in this neck of the woods, I’m ready for spring.

Our son and his family live in a place where winters aren’t like they are around here. They wouldn’t be impressed by our single daffodil. The picture of my granddaughters in the daffodil field was sent to us nearly a month ago. Most of the bulbs that are sold commercially in our part of the world come from the fields in their county. That part of Washington State is also known for tulips.

I’m comfortable with a single flower and the promise of a row of a few dozen that are on their way. I don’t really need a whole field of yellow, even though I admit that the fields of flowers are pretty amazing and make a great background for photos of my granddaughters.

My life has taught me that there are many things in life that are made to seem more valuable because of their scarcity. You don’t need a million dollars to feel fortunate. You don’t need excess to be happy.

The master gardeners can tell you that what I call a daffodil is Narcissus, which is a predominantly spring perennial plant of the Amaryllidaceae family. They are also known as daffadowndilly, narcissus and jonquil. They are distinguished by a central trumpet surrounded by a ring of pedals. The trumpets and pedals come in different colors, but most have yellow as a prominent color. There probably is a lot more that one could say about the flowers. What I know is that they are pretty. They are bold. The bright color is a welcome sign of spring. And we are ready for spring around here, so we’re going to take any signs we can get this year.

The melting snow reminds me of the long list of chores that remain in my yard. And I’ve got a long list of chores at work that need to be done before summer arrives. A month from now, I’ll be caught up in a sweep of activity and wondering if I’m going to get everything done.

This morning, I’m just eager to head out and look at the flower. Maybe there’ll be another today.

Copyright (c) 2019 by Ted E. Huffman. I wrote this. If you would like to share it, please direct your friends to my web site. If you'd like permission to copy, please send me an email. Thanks!