Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.” (Psalm 96:12 NIV)
I love the springtime. I love all the seasons. Well, in the middle of February when the cold wind is blowing and the sun has hidden its face behind clouds for days, then I admit to being a little tired of winter. So that makes spring even more welcome. This year spring has been dragging its feet about getting here. Today we stepped back into winter temperatures even with the sun shining. But as I reported in my Facebook Sunday Morning Coming Down post this morning, the birds were still singing. They weren’t discouraged by the cold wind. They know it’s time to sing to their sweethearts and build nests.
For me, it’s time to go flower hunting. Doesn’t take a lot to find these daffodils. You see the cheerful yellow trumpet blooms everywhere. In yards. Along roadsides. Out in fields where once upon a time somebody lived in a house that’s long gone, but the daffodils or jonquils (that’s what we always called them when I was growing up) that somebody planted ages ago are still blooming merrily. Even better, the daffodils have increased their number by spreading out.
While I love seeing those first daffodils and the forsythia bushes that are in golden glory right now, I also love to go hunting tender wildflowers that need the perfect place to grow. That’s in a wooded, cliff area where cows don’t graze and not too many people tread. The flowers are only beginning to bloom in such an area on my farm and I checked them out last week.
Some were only beginning to bud. Others were already bloomed. The picture on the right is bloodroot. It pops up right out of last fall’s leaves with its leaves curled around its stem. The name is due to how its stem, called the rhizome, secretes a bright red latex compound when cut. I always feel cheated if I delay my flower hunting in the spring and miss seeing a bloodroot bloom. Bloodroot was used by eastern American Indian tribes as a red dye and in the treatment of ulcers, skin conditions, and as a blood purifier as well as for treating ulcers and skin conditions.
Rue anemone is one that is beginning to bloom now and will keep blooming for a while unlike bloodroot that can be here and gone in an instant. So I always get to enjoy those delicate looking flowers. Sometimes they have a pinker cast than these I found this week.
One flower I always get a kick out of finding and that is very prolific on the cliff and near the creek is the Dutchman’s Breeches. This one I found last week was farther along than most of the plants that were up and only beginning to bud. The information I found says this is a flower fit for a queen, since the queen bees that survive the winter to start a new colony need to find early nectar for energy. The Dutchman’s Breeches are a favorite source. Also I learned the plants have an interesting way to spread their seeds. The seeds are hard and shiny, but attached to each is a fleshy white appendage, called an elaiosome, an oil-filled, nutrient-rich body that attracts ants. The ants carry the seeds back to their nest where they consume the elaiosome and then cast out the seed in their refuse piles. This seeds the plants in new areas where they may germinate and grow, thus helping the plant survive if something should destroy the original parent plant. Say Frankie sliding down the hill and uprooting the plant. He does a lot of sliding down the hill when we go hiking over there. I stay on the path, but I sometimes slide a little too.
Here’s a picture of the Dutchman’s breeches from a previous spring to let you see the bloom better.
So thanks for going to check out the flowers with me. We’ll go hunt some more in a week or so when the sun has had time to shine a little more warmth down to encourage more blooms. Then we’ll not just look at the top of the cliff but head down the creek where different flowers sprout up and bloom. If we’re lucky we might even see the owl that has nested on a ledge on the cliff. I spotted one of her babies peering down at me from the ledge, but since they are almost exactly the same color as the rocks, they are very hard to see.
What a great time of the year to rejoice in the beauty of the flowers and the amazing way the Lord has created His world of nature to interconnect and keep finding ways to grow. No wonder the trees sing for joy in the spring.
Do you like wildflowers?
Thanks for reading.
Comments 18
I love wildflowers. God gives us such wonderful creations to enjoy.
Author
Amen, Melissa. The Lord made a beautiful world.
Spring is my favorite season due to the flowers blooming and coloring the world after a bleak winter. I love flowers!
Author
I just sort of echoed your comment in my answer to Linda, Diana. I too love seeing the blooming flowers and the grass going green and the trees budding out. It’s the beginning of flower season. I’m so glad flowers of some sort keep blooming all through the spring, summer and most of the fall.
Love this time of year watching everything come back to life! Your walks on your farm are so pretty. Thanks for sharing!
Author
Glad you enjoyed the wildflower walk, Linda. It is fun seeing all the blooms opening up to bring color to the world after our gray and rainy winter.
Good morning Ann! The photos are beautiful. I enjoyed a lovely weekend drive to my sister’s home in Oklahoma. There was much more color to see blooming along my drive out here. The Western Kentucky Parkway was waking up gloriously….plenty of purple fields interspersed with bright, bright green. I’m not sure what the purple was, but it was gorgeous. Missouri and Eastern Oklahoma has budding trees in all colors..dogwood, redbuds, cherry blossoms and Bradford pear everywhere. And I’m sure the bees are busy, as there’s a layer of pollen covering every surface. Spring has definitely sprung here, and I’m hoping to drag it home with me to Kentucky at the end of the week.
Thanks for sharing your walk with us. I’m looking forward to seeing more pictures soon. Your creek is beautiful!
Author
Glad you’re getting to enjoy spring in Oklahoma, Lavon. Things have been slow bloomers here in KY for sure. So drag that spring home with you. Actually, it’s supposed to get into the seventies this weekend so that will make the blooms start exploding. We went to Hurricane, WV Saturday and more trees were blooming in eastern KY and the part of WV we saw. I visited SC once when spring was springing and everything had a yellow pollen coating.
I am always so happy to see those beautiful spring wildflowers. I haven’t seen any here in MD yet, but finally my daffodils and periwinkle is blooming. I’m happy.
Author
Daffodils are such sunshiny and cheery flowers, Birdie. They almost shout spring. Glad you enjoyed the wildflower walk.
Spring is slow coming in the mountains of WV this year. Nothing has burst into bloom yet. I was at my parents in the south eastern part of the state over the weekend and saw daffodils, forsythia, and periwinkle blooming. Thank you for sharing.
Author
I was surprised when I went flower hunting to see that down lower on the hillside I found more blooming flowers, Lucy. I thought it would be colder on the lower levels but I guess it may be more protected there. We were in WV Saturday and noticed more blooming trees the farther we went east. But we weren’t in the mountain area.
Oh, so enjoyed wildflower hunting with you today. About the only ones I see in tge area I live is dandelions & johnny jump ups. Happy flower hunting.
Author
I have plenty of dandelions too, Lisa. I took a picture of one today that I may put on Facebook in a few. I actually think dandelions are very pretty. I even like the fluff balls but then I’m not a person who worries about that perfect lawn. 🙂 One of my hiker devotionals that I have on my website under the devotionals link is about dandelions.
As always, beautiful post, Ann. I love these precious flowers. I used to see them when I was a child, growing up in the country, but seldom get the chance these days. Makes me appreciate your posts and photos so much more! Happy spring!
Author
Thanks so much, Betty. I appreciate you stopping by. And you may not see the wildflowers the way you did as a child, but you certainly do have some beautiful flowers around your house. Love seeing them on Facebook at times.
I do, thanks. They give me great joy, especially when I forgot I planted them! 🙂
Author
Ahh, surprise flowers, Betty. A gift of joy for a gardener’s work. 🙂