Bravo, April Bravo!

                                                        by Judy Ann Davis

If the current rains in Central Pennsylvania are any indication, we should have masses of blooms in our flowerbeds like the old catchphrase,  April showers bring May flowers, tells us. I hope the month doesn’t disappoint. This is one of my favorites because it’s the bridge from winter into spring. It’s a fickle month with temperatures from freezing at night into the seventies during the day.

On those balmy days, April allows us to wander outside in search of plants with green buds struggling to peek at the sun and blue skies. If we’re lucky, we maybe will see some blooms. Daffodils are pushing up among the dried leaves, and crocus is bursting into shades of yellow, violet, and white. Weeds and dandelions are vying for space as well. Landscape centers lure us in with their many bushes and plants.

This is also the time I love to sit outside in the sunshine with a cup of coffee listening to the birds and hoping to hear the geese honking their way northward. Cardinals, song sparrows, chickadees, and other feathered friends are returning to the feeders to eat or flit through the naked branches in search of the ideal place to build a nest.

Earth day was April 22^nd and Arbor Day is April 29^th this year. Both days remind us to respect our land and its resources. There are many ways to protect the planet. Plant a tree. Pick up trash. Build or set out a birdhouse for our feather friends. Use less plastic. Go easy on the paper towels.  Don’t waste water.

The list goes on and on.

Will Rogers reminds us of how important our planet and our lands are. “Buy land. They aren’t making any more of the stuff,” he said. (I think the current real estate market confirms this.)

Yes, April is the month when the earth wakes up and the land comes alive in the northern regions.

Bravo, April. Bravo!

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The Time of Daffodils

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout

Daffodils are such happy flowers. I can't imagine anyone not liking them. They're easy to grow and mix in beautifully with crocus, hyacinths, and other early blooms. Daffodils have always been on the farm. My mother-in-law had them, and the families who lived here before her. I've divided old clumps, spread them around, and planted new varieties over the years. The waving yellow and white blooms are a spirit lifting sight. When I'm outside working among the flowers, I feel more peaceful and not as freaked out about the pandemic. Like countless others, I'm at home for the duration and especially grateful for the garden. Having an early spring in the valley is a boon. I wish I could share the beauty with everyone. This is the best I can do.

Spring forever appears
      the soothing music part
      of lyrics unspoken.
It thaws the frozen fears,
      mends the wounded heart
      that Winter has broken.
~Aarno Davidson

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. ~Henry Van Dyke

The sun has come out... and the air is vivid with spring light. ~Byron Caldwell Smith, letter to Kate Stephens

A little madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King.
~Emily Dickinson

Winter sprouts springtime wings and flies off into the budding year. ~Terri Guillemets

Daffodils, so bright and yellow,
      Hyacinths of varied hues,
      As they nod their heads, in gladness,
      Telling us they bring good news...
~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, "Springtime" (1940s)

I sure hope spring brings good news to us all