In the language of flowers, crocuses mean cheerfulness!  I was so happy to see mine bloom OVERNIGHT!

Now when I step outside my front door, I have the cheerful sight of these earliest of flowers announcing to the world that winter is over.

In the same bed, there are grape hyacinth, tulips, and daffodils- I’m worried about those daffodils that I planted in the fall- I may have to poke around to see if they are still there.

Today hubby and I took Miss Maddie for a springtime walk- we both were fooled by the partly sunny skies this morning.  We took about two steps outdoors, then turned around to get the winter coats out.  Poor Maddie was very confused.

We set out again, ensconced in winter togs and my felt hat.  The wind was windy and I had to adjust the hat band (thank goodness mine is adjustable) to have it sit lower on my brow.   In doing this, it made it possible for my coat collar to bump the hat brim.  Every step I took bumped the hat back and the collar bumped it forward the next step.

I was getting quite  annoyed, and thought that a hat pin might have been a good idea!

Today I helped clean out my father’s front flower patch.  Over the winter it had collected more than its fair share of his neighbors’ Sycamore leaves.  Dad was enjoying the mild weather from his porch swing while I industriously labored to find the actual flower bed.

Underneath the winter’s blanket, I pointed out to dad that soon he will be enjoying daffodils, tulips, and crocuses.

I think that Spring must be my favorite season purely for the Spring flowers and tree blossoms.  I love Magnolias and Cherry trees best of all, as well as Lilac, Forsythia, Pussy Willow, and Pear trees.

Don’t forget Apple trees have lovely blossoms, too.  I am reading a book by Jeff Wheeler called The Wretched of Muirwood, and it is making me want to look for apple blossoms.

 

Elderberry bushes and trees bloom in the spring with loads of white flowers and then loads of berries resembling small blueberries.   The flowers or berries are cooked and made into beverages, jams, pies, cordials, wine, and tonics.

The Elder tree has a history steeped in mysticism- sleeping under an elder tree will impart dreams of faerie, and an Elder tree is said to be inhabited by a dryad or wood spirit.  It is not a good idea to burn an Elder, or cut it without permission.  Apparently one is to circle the tree thrice and beg the tree- “Give me of thy wood and I will give thee of mine, when I become a tree.”

Today I tasted an elderberry flower lemonade.  If this taste of elderberry is as good as it gets, I think I’ll pass….it tasted like medicine.

 

Is it time to pack away the winter clothes?  I’m speaking of the “deep winter” clothes- snow boots, puffy down coats, mittens and muffs (does anyone wear these anymore?).  According to my local weather forecasts, Spring, in all its watery goodness is here.

Now is the season for rain gear!  Rain slickers and wellies, umbrellas, and tornado drills- ours started last Wednesday.

If you put off Spring gardening tasks for a “perfect day,”  you are likely to be waiting til May.  Put on some waterproof shoes and a raincoat and tramp about your garden and see what can be done today-  I have lots of weeding and cleanup that I should be doing, as well as snooping around the ground looking for  spring bulbs that have sprouted and walking Miss Maddie (to spy on the Magnolia’s progress a few houses over).

 

The last few days have been unseasonably warm and mild and I feel I may be coming down with spring fever.   Not the infectious type- the type that waits impatiently for the seed catalogs and pokes around in the garden looking for shoots and buds.

The lilac and forsythia next door have buds, as well as my father’s magnolia.  Daffodil shoots have been sighted reaching the heights of ONE INCH!!  My grape hyacinths are looking quite ready to fledge.

No signs of the new daffodils I planted in the fall, but I must be patient and take advantage of the warmer days to do weeding and cleanup in the flower beds.

I am looking for the crocuses to be out any day now.

 

I have been doing quite a bit of reading on vintage (and historical) ladies clothing.  My recent topic of interest are stockings.  Originally designed for warmth, they progressed through time to be both useful and fashionable.

While wondering how stockings were held in place (most were thigh and over the knee length), I had a flashback to an older lady patient of mine who rolled her cotton stockings to hold them up.  She had me pull them up the leg then rolled them down a bit. Then she twisted the roll and tucked the twist into the top of the stocking.   I imagine one would need to constantly be pulling them up and re-rolling, and the garter and suspender belt would have been a boon.  These were from the days of no elastic and no stretchy materials like nylon and rayon.

Cotton and wool were the staple material for the masses, with silk for the more prosperous.  When these stockings were washed, in order for them to have the best fit possible, they were dried on stocking forms- leg shaped thin boards that preserved the foot and leg proportions- otherwise the stocking would resemble a crumpled tube of fabric.

Until the 1910s, ladies’ stockings were not on show in public due to the length of the skirts they wore.  Once legs were in fashion, many colors, materials, and patterns were available as well as shoes that were meant to showcase the foot and leg- for example T-strap Mary Janes.

Not much later, the illusion of bare legs with the advent of nylon, were all the rage.  The advent of elastic fibers made pantyhose popular and the garters and suspenders more or less obsolete.

I have recently read a wonderful book by Helen Simonson called Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand.  It is set in small village England (you probably guessed) and features many of the ideals of Miss Marple-“honor, duty, decorum and a properly brewed cup of tea” as stated on the flyleaf.

In a section of the book,a large number of bacon rolls were served to nourish the gentlemen prior to a shooting party (British sport shooting).  I wondered what a bacon roll was, so I looked it up.

It is simply a bacon sandwich- a breakfast that I have loved forever.  English foods frequently have comical names like bubble and squeak, and neeps and taters- and puddings are not a cornstarch based dessert!

 

 

The violet is one of my favorite flowers (and purple my favourite colour).  Violets are an early spring flower and I love to plant them in pots by my front door.  They are certainly a cheerful sight at the end of winter.

Violets are not only beautiful, but have a delightful fragrance (I wear Yardley Violet perfume) and are edible (not African violets).  They can be dipped in egg white and sugar and used to decorate cakes or petit fours, or frozen in ice cubes and floated in punch.

A beautiful salad can be made with edible garnishes of violets, and violet vinegar and violet honey are delectable treats that can be made for use or given as distinctive gifts.

In Victorian times, your breath could be assured to be fresh if you chewed on violets.  On a recent trip to a local British shop, I purchased violet candy and it tastes wonderful.