Rejoice, my druids!

Yeah, I seem to have a lot of flower pictures latey. But I just walked out my door to see that there were tiny irises blooming by the walk. Deep purple ones. It hit me right in the head that it’s spring.

You might think that is a fairly obvious conclusion. But we’ve had a miserable winter this year. Cold, wet, icy, snowy, and just dismal well past the time we usually see the first shoots poking through. So the fact that the first time I see the daffodils poking through the mulch at the end of March is inconceivable here(usually it’s the end of February, and then we have a big snow at the end of March and kill everything. A usual rule in St. Louis is that if the tulip trees bloom before the middle of March, just kiss those flowers good bye).

The other reason I’m so excited is that I decided long ago I must have been a Druid in a former life. Or many former lives. Several of my less complimentary friends have said I was actually an Irish fairy. The short kind. It doesn’t matter. I live for the color green. I wilt and die in the winter when everything is dead. Or I should say I endure. From that first fallen leaf in September to the first tiny iris in Spring, I hold on, because I know spring is coming. I even realized a few years ago that all the artwork I buy has at least a bit of spring green in it. This last year I took that one better. My little writing office is painted entirely in neon spring green. My husband won’t come within fifteen feet of it. I love it. It always makes me smile. And I don’t fall asleep if I’m in there(a great peril in the winter).

Which is why you’ll never see me relocating to Arizona(the only thing you should rake on a lawn is leaves). I can’t tolerate anyplace that doesn’t have trees taller than I. Believe it or not, deserts make me claustrophobic. I literally can’t breathe. I swear I can hear the animals screaming for water–especially if the city has golf courses it’s wasting water on. Also no surprise that the most holy place for me on earth is Ireland. And right now the lambs are arriving, and soon the bluebells and wild iris will take over. And it will be….GREEN.

I can breathe now. Wait til I get back to my writing. It’s spring!

Eileen/Kathleen, the evil twins