Daffodils

Some people know how to turn lemons into lemonade. Several towns away from me a lady learned that she had cancer. She decided that it would help her survive the treatment if she had something big to look forward to, and so she ordered 3000 daffodils.

When they arrived, friends stepped in to plant them...on the hillside, near the woods, along the road, around the house, around the barn.

Then another 3000 bulbs arrived. The lady contacted the company with whom she had placed her original order, but they didn't want the daffodils and said she could keep them at no extra cost.

Her friends returned to plant her second batch of daffodils. In the spring, up sprang 6000 daffodils.

Neighbors saw the daffodils and word spread.

Between my return from North Carolina and Mary's departure for Florida, we had a couple of days. Our goal was to use some of that time to find the daffodils. After our usual swim we skipped playing Rummykub. With lunches in hand we took off for the hills north of Rutland.

Across the way from most of the daffodils was a mass of marsh marigolds in that same springtime yellow.

Mary and I drove past the daffodils to follow the stream further as it tumbled beside the dirt road.

We found an abundance of wild trillium blooming in a deep purple. Mary was fascinated by a tall rock formation that she had first thought was a tree.

Then she spotted a fat bird with a long beak. It stayed put long enough for a good photograph.

I can't get over the size of the leaves on trillium...like elephant ears  catching a breeze.

We were getting hungry, but though this rock was interesting, it wasn't going to be the thing we wanted to watch while eating lunch...and so we meandered back to the daffodils...



And that's how we came across this plump bird...

I was pretty sure it was a Woodcock, but since they aren't often seen I looked him up when I got home. I learned that they mostly eat earthworms, hence the value of that long beak.

I have neighbors who hunt Woodcock and consider them to be a nice meal.

Mary and I settled down to enjoy our lunches surrounded by daffodils.