& Dick the Shepherd Blows His Nail”
by Edward Robert Hughes
Soon shall the winter’s foil be here;
Soon shall these icy ligatures unbind and melt — A little while,
And air, soil, wave, suffused shall be in softness, bloom and growth — a thousand forms shall rise
From these dead clods and chills as from low burial graves.
Thine eyes, ears — all thy best attributes — all that takes cognizance of natural beauty,
Shall wake and fill.
Thou shalt perceive the simple shows, the delicate miracles of earth,
Dandelions, clover, the emerald grass, the early scents and flowers,
The arbutus under foot, the willow’s yellow-green, the blossoming plum and cherry;
With these the robin, lark and thrush, singing their songs — the flitting bluebird;
For such the scenes the annual play brings on.
~ Walt Whitman
(Sands at Seventy)
Spring still seems far away here, Barbara. And with Phil predicting six more weeks of winter … well, he’s at least in line with the calendar. I’m eager to see your Springlike photos though!
Last February we saw Lenten roses on Valentine’s Day and a daffodil in full bloom on the 20th. The way the birds are singing it feels like spring has just about arrived! And today’s temps are going to be above 70°F. Six more weeks of waiting — I don’t envy you!
Six weeks still! 😉
Not for us! 🙂
This young man and his dog look about as excited as me to be immersed in Winter. Even though Woody, our local groundhog, has predicted an early Spring, I think SHE might have missed the mark and it is Phil who is more accurate this time. We have off-and-on-snow and a wintry mix event for Wednesday night as this week’s forecast. I’ll think of you discovering all those Spring wildflowers with your camera lens and remain stoic about Winter here in the Mitten state.
As I mentioned to Debbie, last February we saw Lenten roses on Valentine’s Day and a daffodil in full bloom on the 20th. That’s the nicest thing about living here, the spring comes early and lingers for months. You have my sympathy as you endure your persistent winter weather for six more weeks. Maybe it’s the early spring down here but the locals don’t seem to take any note of Groundhog Day. Back in Connecticut I used to look forward to the Groundhog Day parade in Essex, featuring a huge groundhog float, “Essex Ed.”
I do remember you writing about the Lenten roses and the daffodils … I think I mentioned our grocery store always had them around St. Paddy’s Day – I’d go get some as they were a bunch of 10 for $1.00. That sounds fun and I like the name “Essex Ed” … a blogger from Georgia said their groundhog was named General Beauregard Lee, We don’t have any festivities here for Groundhog Day, except for Woody at the Howell Nature Center and people gather around her and her handler.
That’s interesting that you had Lenten roses for sale in a grocery store. I had never heard of Lenten roses until I moved down here, although I imagine if they have them in Connecticut I was just oblivious to their existence. One year I made a post about the parade and Essex Ed.
https://www.ingebrita.net/2014/02/groundhogs-antique-cars/
I’m sorry, I misspoke … we had daffodils available around St. Patrick’s Day, just in our local grocery store. They were $1.00 for a bunch of 10. I’d get a bunch for home and a bunch for work, though they opened up fairly quickly unfortunately. I had Googled Lenten Roses and unfortunately I’ve never been lucky enough to see one. Thank you for this link to your Groundhog Day parade. It looks like a lot of fun and a great way to break up the Winter!
Once I knew what they were I started seeing Lenten roses in lots of people’s gardens last spring. I guess conditions here must be just right for them. I’m glad you enjoyed that old Groundhog Day post. I can’t believe that was eleven years ago!!!
Well I was happy when I finally find the Swamp Rose after you took pictures of it on your Connecticut walks. The Wildlife Refuge didn’t know what I was talking about when I asked them if it was in the marsh. I did enjoy that post – it sounded like fun. I think Woody the Woodchuck might have been wrong as we had more snow today and more freezing rain – it is treacherous in my driveway. And we have snow three days in this coming week. My walking regimen has taken a pause until the ice is gone.
I do miss those beach roses. But the Carolina roses here are just as pretty. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a swamp rose, although they are similar to the other two. Looks like they got a lot of snow in Connecticut, too. Someone posted pictures of “my” beach covered in snow on Facebook. Amazing!
I did see some pictures of Connecticut the other day – I wonder if your beach and former stomping grounds will be part of this storm on Wednesday. For us, one weather forecast is for 4-8 inches of snow; another one says SE Michigan (me) will get 3-5 inches as we’ll get a wintry mix … neither sounds very good to me.
Lovely, Barbara!
Thank you, Donna!