My Mother's Violets

When I was a little girl, the house where I lived with my parents had a big patch of violets in the back yard. Simple, violet coloured, tough and untended, they bloomed each spring and my mother loved them. When, in her senior years, she became very fragile, my father and I decided that the house should be sold and a smaller one bought close to where I lived so that I could help with her care. We dug up some of the violets, potted them and transported them to a suitable spot at the new house. We also brought along a pot of them for my aunt, her sister, whose home was near the new house.

After my mother died, my father decided to move to an apartment in a seniors' housing complex. I forgot all about the violets. The patch my aunt had flourished, however, and when we built the house we now live in she suggested that I dig up some of them and transplant them here. They are doing fine and have spread out to occupy a patch about 8' square. They are blooming as of yesterday. My mother would be delighted. She loved growing things, especially the spring flowers. She even loved these.

Below are two of the American Goldfinches that visit my feeder every morning. These are the guys, in their fine spring clothes, visiting. The olive drab ladies are off working on their nests. They make a short visit around noon, grab a few seeds and get back to work.

I have to confess that the tulips I just added at the page top are potted and sitting in my living room. I have one Daffodil and one squilla in bloom outside. And no trout lilies yet, although I am checking daily, camera poised. But if you look very carefully at the apple tree branches where the goldfinches are sitting, you can see the tiny start of leaves.