Spring Brings Surprises

Narcissus

Each new season brings surprises here.  We noticed that quite literally on the first day of spring the frogs started singing.  Shortly thereafter bugs began to appear.  We decided at that point we really liked winter best of all.  In Texas you have bugs all year round so it never occurs to you that in some parts of the country winter means no critters.   We've decided we like a season with no bugs.

 

Cheery Daffodils

Spring brought other surprises too. Common yellow daffodils are everywhere here, even scattered in the woods. I can only guess that squirrels carried some bulbs into the woods and found that they didn't like them, dropped them, and they took root there.

 

First Spring Daffodils

My sisters who read this may recognize this statue.  When I was a kid, my Dad built a concrete, kidney shaped fish pond in our backyard.  I thought it was enough like a miniature swimming pool that I thought it might be fun to take a dip .... it was slimy and nasty and I never tried that again.  Anyway, he had this statute which is really a fountain in it.  There was a light switch at the back door and it activated the pump and water came out of the fish's mouth. I guess my parents pulled this fountain out of the pond when they sold the house and moved on.  They never had another fish pond so I guess this statue hung out in a flower garden for the next 20 or so years.  I have carried it around for the past 26 years and broke it once but Marc was able to fix it.  It has traveled from Texas to Arkansas and now resides by the well house, and lo and behold the first flowers of spring came up right beside it!

 

Marc built a rustic cedar fence and pergola in front (pics to come when I can figure out how to download them again off the "cloud"...) and I dug a SMALL clump of daffodils and transplanted them and turns out there were almost 50 bulbs in that little clump.  So I guess there are thousands on our place.  Next came Narcissus, or at least what I consider a Narcissus, pictured above.  They are very dainty flowers.  There weren't as many as the yellow daffodils.

 

Then came the purple and yellow bearded irises.  We didn't have as many here as some other folks do, but it was a nice surprise to have them pop up.  There are clumps of these beautiful flowers blooming along the highways.  Next spring I need to carry a bucket and shovel with me and dig some up.

 

Dana brought me a spray of roses that grow in her yard.  It's a climbing rose that's very prolific and hardy.  The flowers are small and don't have much scent, but lots of petals and lots of flowers.  I would really like to get cuttings started so I can have them growing here too.