First Color of Spring

 

I saw a little yellow crocus, peaking above the clutter of brown leaves the other day. Oh, how I look for a little color on these dreary days of late winter and the first days of spring, when everything is tired and too often a dirty brown.  

All things that grow appear ready to welcome spring but they wait for warmer temperatures.  The little crocus is an exception.  It doesn’t wait, apparently can’t wait to show off its beautiful yellow in contrast to all the brown around it. How I welcome it.  Sometimes it doesn’t even wait for the snow to melt, but is a splash of yellow with white all around it.

            At home on the farm, when I was a kid, the dandelions were the first color to appear after a long winter.  The snow always melted first on the south side of our farmhouse, and it was here that the dandelions appeared.  Today, these first colors of spring, are often despised, dug up, chemically destroyed—an enemy plant.  As little kids, we sometimes picked them and brought them into the house and put them in a little jar for the family to enjoy.  

            Soon more color appeared, apple blossoms ad wild cherry blossoms. A bit later lilacs appeared—we had a row of them growing along the south side of our one-room country school one-acre plot.  And then the wild violets, a hillside of them grew on a sunny opening in the woodlot to the north of the farmstead.  Little bouquets of beautiful violets, a Mother’s Day present from her boys.

            Nothing more welcome than the first color of spring.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Look for the first color of spring and take time to enjoy it.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To purchase Jerry’s books, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.  and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.