Thursday, April 21, 2011

Dandelions


There is nothing more apparent that Spring is here than the blooming of those nasty weeds...
The dandelion especially has gotten a bad rap as people try to eradicate them from their yards. Yet, there is nothing more endearing to a mother, than to have her rag-a-muffin child come to her with a big bouquet of the yellow blooms. Seeing a handful of dandelions on the table in a small drinking cup is more precious to me
than a beautiful bouquet brought to me by FTD. And it has been a long time since I have gotten either! lol

18 years ago we moved to a small patch of unremarkable land here in WV. No one else was interested in a piece of land that had no water, electricity or even a spot that was cleared of all the briers and thorns that grow profusely here. There weren't any worms to be found under rocks, there weren't any dandelions here. It was a hot dry summer, and the soil is basically crushed sandstone... so any rain that fell simply ran into the ravine.

The following Spring the three kids and I decided that we would see if we couldn't add some color and life to our mountain top. We would gather dandelions that were going to seed from places that we visited, being very careful not to let the wind coming into our van windows blow the seeds around, we transported them home. When we arrived home, they would blow the seeds off of the stem and let the wind carry them.

This year, my husband and I are now alone on the land. Our independent children have moved to different states. We have noticed the profusion of dandelions we finally have growing. It may not mean a lot in the long run, but it is a little piece of their childhood that I will be seeing each coming Spring



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