Prairie Primroses

Spring is just the right name for the time of year when flowers spring unbidden from the ground.

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The primroses are up. I saw them yesterday as well as some Stars of Bethlehem. Spring pinks have come up in small patches. The tiny wild violets color the fresh grass blue. I love daffodils, hyscinths, and tulips but the blossoms that come up unplanted are the finest. We know spring has sprung when we see the roadsides red with Indian Paintbrushes and Pink Primroses. They are my favorites.

I love to see the early daffodils blooming where a house once sat. I wonder who lived on that piece of land and who planted the flowers that grow and bloom many years faithful yet after harsh winters. The iris fronds point staright and clean and send up purple blossoms with yellow tongues.

Summer is coming. We open the windows and breathe in the southern breeze. Most of the days are sunny and bright. It stays light longer by a few minutes everyday. I need a sweater in the morning but lose it by noon.

Oh Spring, welcome to my house and yard, to the pasture and to the woods. Robin Redbrests hop across the grass and find worms to eat. Daddy taught me that robins bring spring. It lifts my heart when I see the first one. That was yesterday the same day I saw the primroses.

Pollen is in the air. The oak leaves are pushing out catkins covered with the stuff and we all sniff and sneeze. It’s one of the dreaded parts of spring but the pollunation brings the fruit. The pear trees are white and the mulberry trees are one of the first fresh greens we see. Last week the dogwood trees were covered with blooms four petals each notched and each with a golden crown in its center. Daisies pop up beside the dusty dry dirt road whiter than bleached sheets flapping in the wind on a clothesline.

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Rain falls soft and warm. We wake to hear showers in the night tapping a rhythm on the roof punctuated by lightning and thunder. The grass is growing fast. Clover too. The ground seems about to burst with water. The ditches flow like streams.

Spring has come. Open the windows. Sit out on the porch swing for a bit and watch the birds. Go for a walk. Pick a daffodil. Cut a first rose and put it in a bud vase. Make a bouquet of Bluebonnets or Paintbrushes. Come celebrate!

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They shall praise His name with dancing; They shall praise Him with the tambourine and lyre. For the Lord takes pleasure in His people. Psalm 149 :3-4

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