Tulip Throats

Does anyone really know what time it is?

That old saying "The more things change, the more they stay the same" is certainly true for me. Lately I've become disgruntled (isn't that a great word, meaning to be in a sulky humor, or moody discontent) with the state of life in general and the lack of stimulation in MY life in particular.

For grins, I looked back at my posts in May 2007, and find I was in this same emotional upheaval then. However, I was thinking of ways to get myself out of it. I realized that I hadn't carried through with my solutions. Maybe I'll try again. At least last year I was trying to untangle myself from the predicament. This year I'm not even trying. Yet?
It occurs to me that maybe this is a Spring condition. In the past, it was customary to Spring Clean the house. To open the windows, let in the fresh air, wash all the bedding and linen, beat the rugs, starch the curtains, polish everything until it sparkles. (Does anyone actually DO this anymore?)

Maybe I'm trying to Spring Clean my mind, my attitudes, my values and expectations.

If time is a spiral, I've just completed another round. It's Spring, so one revolution has happened. Usually I look out from this vantage point and realize that while I'm in the same place, I'm not in the same space. Usually I realize that I'm up a rung, or notch, or however you'd quantify being a little bit higher than last time.

Sadly, this time I'm afraid that I've revolved to a lower level on the space/time continuum. Is this a bad thing? I'm not sure. I believe it's meaningful and I think it's going to take a little introspection to come to any real conclusions. Guess I know what I'll be doing for the next.......?

Dandelions...A Rose by any other name...

April showers bring May flowers, and one of the first to spring up is Dandelions. I have never seen as many dandelions as we have in Wisconsin. Could be because there are lots of fields, and plenty of rain.

Driving through the countryside, you see fields of yellow. The first time I asked what the crop was, the person laughed and told me it wasn't a crop. It was the dandelions. I would watch them, and notice that they were allowed to go to seed before being cut. Wouldn't it make more sense to cut them BEFORE they go to seed?

Or maybe the dandelion provides something I'm ignorant of. The yellow color is so eye-popping and cheerful after months of grey winter. Every year I have the same thought. Someone should figure out some way to use them. They are plentiful, resistant to nearly everything, perennial and found nearly everywhere. It's a shame to see Nature's abundance just go to waste year after year. Maybe I'll look into this....

My research found that dandelions are marvelous for detoxifying the body. The greens, before the flower comes, are tender and tasty, full of vitamins and nutrients. After the flower blooms, the leaves can be boiled to get the detoxification effect. The flowers can be eaten, and/or saved and made into Dandelion Wine. The root has multiple uses, the best one being the propagation of the species. The taproot of a dandelion is long and difficult to uproot. When surface dandelions are pulled up, the taproot usually breaks, which causes it to multiply and reproduce.
So, Nature has given us a perfect solution to long winter. After months of having no fresh produce, the dandelion springs to life in the early Spring with tasty nutritious greens. This is followed by yellow flowers that are cheerful and can be saved to make Wine. We can boil the entire plant to detox our body from the ill effect of a long Winter. Nature also made Dandelions with the ability to easily seed and propagate themselves. A near perfect plant that we spend great effort to eradicate instead of enjoying it's many benefits. Read more here: http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Dandelion.html

I for one, am going to give this a try.

monument valley

 

This picture was on my Pisca page, and it gave me wanderlust. I miss the desert sometimes.

May days

With the beginning of May, the weather warmed up! When we were at the Capitol for the Farmer's Market, I noticed that they had lots of tulips planted, just ready to bloom. After a couple of sunny, warm days I figured the flowers had opened and I wanted to see them.

I LOVE tulips! Maybe it is because they come up early in the Spring and it's nice to have all that color after months of cold and dreary.
Whatever it is, looking at tulips makes me happy! I especially like to look at what I call their throats, the place where the petals meet the stem.

One of my favorite tulips IS my favorite because of the throat coloration. That dark center, outlined in yellow ALWAYS makes me smile!

Start looking down, into tulips, and I promise, you'll be hooked. I never look at a tulip without looking to see what the throat pattern is. And seeing...I smile. And when I smile, I feel happy. Thank goodness for tulips!

Farmer's Market

Ever since we came to Wisconsin, I've heard about the Dane County Farmers Market. It's held on the grounds surrounding the Capitol in downtown Madison, and is famous as a great Farmer's Market.

We both had a rare Saturday off, so we decided to check it out. The mild weather turned cold again, and the high on Saturday morning was about 43! The Farmer's Market starts at 6am (Burrrrr!) but we waited until about 9 to get there. We were dressed in multiple layers so we could be comfortable if it suddenly warmed up (wistful thinking!).

We parked many blocks away, and began walking toward the Capitol. Wow, there seemed to be a lot of people, many in running gear, heading in the same direction. When I saw numbers on them, I remembered that today was the Crazylegs Classic race. Guess the race was starting in the same vicinity as the Farmer's Market.

When we got to the top of the hill there were people everywhere!

The runners were milling around in the street, and the Vendors were lined up on the sidewalk on all four sides of the Capitol. We pushed our way through the crowd and started trecking around to see what was for sale.

The season has just started, and I didn't think there would be much for sale, since we're barely getting leaves on the trees. I didn't expect produce for at least a month. I was surprised! Several people had spinach for sale (cold weather crop) and one woman had a full table of lovely red tomatoes! Of course they were raised in a greenhouse, but I was impressed just the same.

Mostly people were selling things other than produce: Baked goods, honey, cheese, salsa, jerky, fish, bison, more cheese (this is Wisconsin don't ya know!), plants and flower starts for the garden, fresh flowers, popcorn and many more things I can't remember. The rule is that to be on the Square, you have to produce the goods yourself. Across the street are the people selling things made by others.

We had seen three sides of the Market and found ourselves near starting line for the race. Just as the sun peeked out for the first time, the first wave of runners started. Every minute they started the next wave of runners. They announced that 17,000 people were running! No wonder it seemed crowed!Once all the runners were gone, the Farmer's Market seemed quiet. We finished our walk around the Capitol and went home. It was a great introduction to the Farmer's Market, and I'm looking forward to watching it grow, as crops become ready for market.

Just now I need a nap to recover from all the excitement!

April Showers

We have Leaves on the trees! The grass is greening up and some of the early flower bulbs are in bloom! Everything is new and alive and it feels wonderful! Turns out these aren't leaves. They are blossoms, complete with pollen! But it sure is pretty.

We're also getting some rain. This is more than April Showers. During the night we had thunder and lightening that woke me up and kept me awake. It stopped for awhile, but now we're getting the beginning of a storm that should last for hours. More thunder and lightening and a steady, light rain.

Guess we'll be having more of the temporary flooding, and the ground is already saturated. The neighbors yard looks like a small lake again.

It's nice to be home, all warm and safe, watching through the windows. My story will change, no doubt, when I have to get out in it to go to work. But that's HOURS away. For now, I'll just keep watching.