Buds

   One of the pleasures of living in this part of the Midwest is spring. Spring around here is not the beautiful season it is in many parts of the country. Spring around here can be rainy, gray, cold and muddy. Depending on how fast the snow melts and how much rain falls it can also be a time where people living near lakes and rivers wonder if there will be flooding. Sometimes a sign of spring can be sandbags and dikes along rivers.

   I know that spring is coming when leaf buds appear on trees and bushes. The tulips begin to poke up from the ground sometimes poking through the leaves that were left on top of the garden. It has always seemed miraculous to me that this can happen after some of the winters we have had.

  I'm especially happy this year because my small mock orange bush is showing signs of life. My poor little bush didn't do well in the last really cold winter we had. A lot of the branches broke off and it had no flowers last year. I watered and fertilized it and took care of it. In the fall I piled leaves around it in an effort to protect it from the cold. Most of the branches are dead, but I saw two small branches coming off the trunk with tiny leaf buds. It's still alive. It won't flower again this year. That's all right. I'm just happy that it is still alive.

   Every year it seems we have more tulips come up. Sometimes they come up in places we don't expect. Last fall I was given some bulbs which I planted. I'm not what sure what kinds of plants they are and I don't remember where I put them. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes up as it gets warmer.

  One thing I do in the spring is bring up the amaryllis plants. I have mixed feelings about the amaryllis. I love seeing the long leaves come up. Sometimes I almost think you can see them grow, they come up so fast. I would like it better if they would flower more often. Last year I watered and fertilized them according to my Dad's instructions. Maybe, just maybe one of them will flower.

   The thing I like about spring is that potential is everywhere. Anything can grow. Anything can happen. Nothing is exactly the same as it was. What a gift after the winter season!