Daffodil Daze

 My favorite flower without a doubt is the daffodil.  When I moved to the farm in 1980 there was a huge clump of daffodils behind the house that was so overgrown that there were mostly green leaves and few daffodils.  I divided them, added to them and moved them everywhere.  By the time I left 40 years later I could go out in the spring and pick huge bouquets of them for weeks.   In fact, the area behind the pond I called "Daffodil Hill."  I brought bags of bulbs with me to this house and wish I had brought more. 

I loved having luncheons and teas for my lady friends and had several with a daffodil theme over the years.  The most elaborate was in 2004 and here is the menu.  I wish I could still cook like that.  Yesterday it was all I could do to make a batch of cookies and cook dinner... even then I burned one pan of the cookies.

My memories every April

 For many years I have done "happy memories" whenever I'm stuck in a waiting room, awake in the night, convalescing in the hospital, biding time at a medical office etc...   It;s my form of meditation.  I close my eyes, slow my breathing, relax, and focus on one happy memory. 

 I try to put myself right into that memory, smell the air, feel the weather, listen to the sounds etc.  Different months and activities trigger different pleasant memories, but April always triggers one of my favorite memories... lambing.

 I imagine my ewes all swollen and   uncomfortable no matter what they did.  I try to actually feel my hands buried in their fleece and massage their backs and rub their tummies. They would lie down and then stand up over and over.  Then one morning I would walk to the barn and as usual, smell the alfalfa, hear the ewes shuffling, and then a  mewing sound of a newborn lamb was music to  my ears.  What a thrill that was.  It has been years and years since I had sheep but I will carry those precious moments to my very last days....