We’ve arrived at Dandelion Days. I know that most people regard dandelions as obnoxious weeds, but I love them. There are few sights prettier in the spring than a field or lawn covered with their bright yellow flowers. Granted, I do not tolerate them in my flower or vegetable beds, but they are welcome to flourish in the orchard and the lawn. Common dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are not native to North America. They were introduced from Europe because they are used as food and medicine. Many people eat dandelion greens in the spring. I’ve tried that, but I find them too bitter. Roasted dandelion roots are used as a tea. I appreciate them for their abundant and persistent beauty. I saw in one of my plant catalogs that there are pink dandelions (Taraxacum pseudoroseum) and white dandelions (Taraxacum albidum). I think I will order some seed next year and see how they grow.
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| The field above our house full of dandelions. |
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| Pink dandelions. |
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| White dandelions. |
On Tuesday the weather was fine and I finally had a chance to spray the orchard. The spray I use is an organic concoction I make from neem oil, karanja oil, fish hydrolysate, liquid kelp, and a probiotic inoculant called EM-1. It’s pretty stinky, but great for the trees. While I was spraying, I did a close inspection of the trees. The apples are loaded with buds that the frost missed. Pending any further hard freezes, we should have a good harvest.
Wednesday was a lovely day. It began with a beautiful sunrise. Most mornings I try to be out on my morning walk at dawn so I can watch the sunrise. I love the early morning hours. When the sunrise is spectacular, as it was on Wednesday, it makes the whole day better. Later that morning the day was so fine, I could not resist taking a longer walk. I went up the road and through the fields to the woods. The trees are just leafing out and the sunlight through the new leaves is beautiful. The forest floor is covered with white wood violets, may apples, and uncrumpling ferns. There were warblers singing high up in the trees. As I came home, I passed by Burrell’s pond where the geese were minding their goslings.
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| Dawn on Wednesday. |
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| Dawn on Wednesday. |
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| Dawn on Wednesday. |
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| Walking up the road. |
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| White wood violets. |
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| Geese with their goslings. |
I spent a few hours during the day on Wednesday planting out a few things. I usually don’t plant out until Memorial Day, but the weather was beautiful and I checked the forecast and it looked safe. I planted seedlings that I’d started weeks and weeks ago – hollyhocks, hardy hibiscus, snapdragons, Chinese asters, and African daisies. I watered them in and imagined how they’d look in full flower in the high summer days of July and August.
Wednesday afternoon we went to the Raymond Cemetery just up the road from us and put flags on the veterans’ graves. We’ve been doing that for many years.
Thursday morning when I checked the thermometer, it was 30°. I rushed out to see if things had frozen. There was a very light frost, but it was enough. The hibiscus, asters, and daisies I’d planted the day before were dead. The other plants survived. The frost took out most of the remaining lilac buds. It didn’t hurt the apple trees. When I checked the weather sites on line, I could see that sometime during the night after I’d gone to bed, they issued a frost warning. I guess I was hasty in planting out. I should have known better. I will wait until the end of this week before I plant anything more.
Thursday was another perfect spring day. Although I had things I needed to do in the house (Barn quilt orders), I couldn’t bring myself to spend such a fine day indoors. Miriam and I went out to do errands. We went into town to buy animal feed and visit a few of the local nurseries. We bought more plants – flowers for the border and to put in pots on the back porch steps, a few vegetables to supplement the ones I’d grown. Then I spent the afternoon getting things ready for the weekend. We were going down to the Thayn’s house and I needed to be sure the chickens and pigs had access to food and water for the weekend. Our friend Kerry Dunn brought me a 15 gallon drum with watering cups on it for the chickens. She also brought me a 50 gallon drum that I will turn into a waterer for the pigs, but for now they are using a 15 gallon waterer, which was enough for the weekend. By the end of the day I had everything ready.
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| Flower pots on the back porch stairs. |
We left on Friday afternoon and went down state to the Thayn’s house. The Fosters came over from Toledo. We gathered for a threefold celebration – Memorial Day, our 36th anniversary, and the blessing of our newest granddaughter. We had a great weekend together. We worked on the Thayn’s garden together. We played games together. We ate great food together. This morning we had church together where Tabor gave a name and a blessing to Florence Myrtle Thayn. After a delicious lunch we headed home again. We arrived here just now and found everything in order.
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| Lounging around at the Thayn's house. |
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| Planting tomatoes. |
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| Cleaning the chicken coop. |
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| Playing with orbeez. |
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| Florence at her blessing. |
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| The Thayns. |
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It will be different this year. In Ulysses there will be no parade with the high school band, Boy Scout Troop, Little League team, and fire trucks. There will be no gathering at the cemetery with the traditional speech, 21 gun salute, and taps. It seems a major disruption in a small community like ours. I have a day full of projects planned. The lawn (mostly dandelions) need mowing. I will assemble the pigs’ new 50 gallon waterer. The weather is supposed to be fine so maybe we’ll take a walk up the road. By the end of the week our county will be moved to Code Green status, which means things will almost be normal again. Maybe I’ll finally be able to get a haircut. So much to look forward to!
