During that day's afternoon walk I meandered east from our apartment on the Southwest Path. A daily walk is part of my regular routine. Occasionally the sun poked through the thin clouded overcast sky. The following poem Michael b. darby captures my mood as I approached Prospect Gardens and began scanning the Gardens for signs of spring.
Anticipation of Spring
"As winter slowly wanes, its cold breath slowly turning to the warm
Breath of spring, renewing and accepting the Wonderment that spring
Shall bring forth nature's power of renewal. Oh how awesome it makes us feel
As we await the beauty and the anticipation of spring we shall accept.
Watch the daffodil slowing begin to bloom as it pushes its way up from earth
And ground. Watch the buds on the Bradford pears burst open and the yellow
Grass as it begins its journey to green, and the firament and all it contains show
Its force that Mother Nature shall bring and anoint us all with its renewal of life.
Watch the farmer as he busts open the soil and turns over the ground and tills the dirt
To a fine sift, awaiting the planting of seed that will bring forth a great abundance
Of Food to renew life's bread for us all; and to exclaim, spring is finely here!"
It's been a long winter as this patch of remaining snow streaked with dirt testifies. Loudly announcing "spring is finally here!" seemed premature. Yet a hint of spring was in the air.
The only signs of spring I found were pale green Day Lilies, no more that three inches above the ground. I'm reading Jerry Apps' "A History: Old Farm." I gained from Apps a new respect for what many, including me, call "ditch lilies."
The tawny orange blooming annuals are native to China, Japan, Korea and eastern Siberia and were cultivated long before the birth of Christ. Apps sites Chinese records saying that Day Lilies relieve physical and mental pain. Juice from the roots benefit the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and stomach while strengthening willpower, reducing worry and brightening the eyes. Wow, I didn't know all this.
Day Lilies were popular throughout Europe by the 1500s and they most likely crossed the Atlantic with the Pilgrims, at least that's what Apps says. In the light of what I learned about Day Lilies, I may reconsider intentions to remove more Daily Lilies from the Gardens. Much of the southwest section of the Gardens was covered with Day Lilies when we began developing the Gardens in 2010 and many return each year. Perhaps it's best to leave them given their history, as well as a reminder that they witnessed steam powered trains rumbling down the corridor.
What follows are more Garden scenes all testifying to this season of transition and my anticipation of spring. They also show the Gardens' geographical features: hilly slopes with some covered with rip-rock. Both features add an extra challenge to gardening. Sometimes I refer to our efforts as "extreme gardening."This picture shows the southeast section of the Gardens and is in the Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood. Underneath the trees is a shade garden of Hostas, Jack-in-the Pulpit and Jacob's Ladder. In front of the newly replaced board fence is a Red Bud, that will soon bloom. Several Red Buds are in the nearby UW Arboretum. With anticipation I await their blooming and another sign that "spring is finally here!"
The old picket fence has been there for many years. It was there when we first moved into the neighborhood in 1986, as was the railroad tracks. Occasionally an engine and one flat car of lumber slowly traveled west with a load for Brunsell's Lumber yard, which is still in business near the Beltline.
Emily, our daughter, has fond memories of the train tracks. As an older child, Emily would sit along the tracks enjoying some peace and solitude. Now West High School students visit, sit along on the ramps and eat their lunch.
Today, election day, Ann and I intended to remove the orange snow fences. Removal has become a spring ritual. Light rain changed our minds. Sun broke through about 3 PM, just in time for my daily stroll.
In a few months the Gardens will be transformed as native grasses, prairie plants and perennials return. Meanwhile I will wait with anticipation for spring as I did as a young farm boy growing up on a farm with a pond near the farm house.
I cherish the story of those spring days told by my oldest sister, Jenny, when Ann and I interviewed her for a family project. Jenny died in early spring of 2017, April 6th to be exact. She took me back to when the pond and the creek that cut across the farm overflowed with water from the melting snow. Jenny described the soothing sound of the rushing water, the pleasing songs of croaking frogs and the sweet melodies of robins. For a few minutes we sat silently each enjoying the memories of childhood springs.
Our first community work session is scheduled for April 20th from 9 to noon. If you are in the Madison area please join us. We will finish cutting back plants and maybe remove more rocks while creating new beds for plants that are on order. On April 26th from 1 to 4 pm University of Wisconsin Badger Volunteers. Another opportunity to tend the gardens while enjoying the unfolding spring.
May spring continue to unfold and may we all be healthy, strong and happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment