“You cannot forget if you would those golden kisses all over the cheeks of the meadow, queerly called dandelions.”
While my coffee was brewing, I sat out on the deck with my new camera in hand hoping to take pictures of all the birds dropping by my feeders for breakfast. Not a bird stopped. Three Baltimore orioles chasing each other flew over the yard, a goldfinch was on a branch hidden by leaves and a nuthatch flew over my head. I took a picture of Gracie.
When I came back inside, I scratched my head and found a tick. I flushed it away, but I’m still grossed out, and my entire body itches. I check Gracie all the time for ticks. I wonder if I can train her to check me.
The sun was here then it left. Now it’s back. I think it will be a peek-a-boo day. I’m going for a ride later. It’s been a long time since Gracie and I meandered. The Cape is spring beautiful. The leaves are out, the lilacs are in bloom and the flowers are growing tall. I don’t want to miss any of it.
I love the faces in pansies. Some smile. Others look pensive. The ones in the pail on my front steps remind me of a garden club tea where all the women are wearing brightly colored hats.
The irises in my garden have buds. Every day I check to see how big they’ve gotten. So far they are all still green, not a touch of color peeks through.
My sisters used to bring my mother dandelion bouquets. She’d put them in a jelly glass in the middle of the table. For a little kid, dandelions were the best of flowers. I remember blowing their seeds into the air and watching the wind take and strew them like little parachutes. Sometimes we’d sit and make necklaces and crowns of dandelions, and I remember holding a dandelion under my friend’s chin to see if she liked butter. I think she did.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
May 15, 2010 at 12:11 pm
They had promised rain and fog all day today and so it started. But the the heat came and it reached 72F. Mostly cloudy, but now and again the sun shines through small holes in the clouds. It feels like thunder in the air and the phone clicked loudly when I was speaking in the phone earlier.
I hope it will stay warm now so the plants in my garden can start growing, not only the lawn 🙂
Dandylions are still the best of flowers I think 🙂 They shine like little suns even when it rains and they are really easy to keep alive 🙂 🙂
Have a great day now!
Christer.
May 15, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Christer,
I’m glad you’re finally enjoying warmer weather, even with the rain. WE are still in the 60’s every day, and there is often an ocean breeze which makes the day seem colder.
I hardly see a dandelion any more. Even my lawn is kept too neatly, weedless.
May 15, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Hi Kat – you know what, I have lived in Baltimore for almost 59 years now, and the only Orioles I have ever seen in all that time have been the two-legged sort. They tell me that if you wish to attract them, put out orange wedges. They must like the color coordination with their plumage. Happy Saturday to you, dear friend!
May 15, 2010 at 11:21 pm
Mark,
I love the baseball caps of your Orioles as their bird is just so lovely, just like the ones in my yard. I have an orange feeder and another one with both an orange and grape jelly spots. They also like grape jelly.
May 15, 2010 at 2:32 pm
At least you found the tick before it could do any damage. We check ourselves regularly down here, and ise lots of Off!
May 15, 2010 at 11:22 pm
Ralph,
You’re right, but it doesn’t seem to matter. I’ve been feeling ticks all night even though there are none.
May 15, 2010 at 4:12 pm
I hate ticks. We had all sorts of probems with our Beagle when she was alive. It’s probably the main reason when she died we got cats . . . indoor cats. The kind that don’t even have fleas. They never go out unless someone screws up and leaves open a door. Hot, Hot, Hot down here Kat. The A/C has been running non-stop all day.
May 15, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Z&Me,
I hate ticks too. They just feed off people and animals and that is just so gross to me. Boxers don’t seem to attract too many ticks. I found only two total on all of my dogs. The total on me is higher.
My cats too stay inside. They don’t even make a rush for an open door.
I’m sorry for your heat-nothing is worse.
May 15, 2010 at 6:12 pm
G’day Katry, as children in England our beliefs differed from yours with regard to dandelions. The name children gave them (the flowers) was “pee-the-beds” If you picked a dandelion you would pee in your bed that night, their seed heads were still used to tell the time. Buttercups were used for the under chin butter test. Daisies were used to make daisy chains, these little flowers grew in abundance in peoples lawns and were, I learned in later life, regarded as troublesome weeds.
May 15, 2010 at 11:26 pm
Bob,
I love hearing about your dandelions and bed wetting. It just seems the perfect kid thing. We also used buttercups under the chin, but they were much harder to find. Dandelions were everywhere.
I love daisies.
May 15, 2010 at 9:32 pm
This week I saw the first hummingbird of the season. Also, the siberian iris are blooming. So, hang on, it shouldn’t take long for the birds and the blooms to travel from NJ to Cape Cod.
Also, thanks for the tunes–I collect songs with flower in the titles and I didn’t have any of those!
May 15, 2010 at 11:28 pm
Nosilia,
How neat to have seen a hummingbird. I have seen only one in my yard. Definitely, my irises are way behind yours, but you give you hope.
You are most welcome. I’m glad I could add to your collection.
May 16, 2010 at 12:28 am
There is a quote by Andrew V. Mason that says,“If dandelions were hard to grow, they would be most welcome on any lawn.” I think it is true! I think
they are pretty. As a child, I too used to pick them for bouquets. However, they would wilt about as quickly as I could get them into water.
Thanks for the Frank Sinatra post. You thought of me
when you posted it, didn’t you? I hope so anyway.
Hugs, Rita
May 16, 2010 at 8:18 am
Rita,
I really did think of you when I posted Frank! I knew you’d like it.
Dandelions are pretty!
May 18, 2010 at 1:28 pm
The name “dandelion” comes from the French “dents de lion” – lion’s teeth – from the shape of the leaves.
The Old English for the plant was “pissabed” which is where Bob’s pee-the-bed comes from. I seem to remember reading that the leaves are a really good diuretic so there’s a logical basis for the name!
May 18, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Greenockian,
Thanks, I knew none of this. I find the origins of words fascinating.
Now Bob’s comment makes more sense to me.
May 18, 2010 at 3:15 pm
And come to think of it, another French name for dandelion is piss-en-lit.
May 18, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Thanks, Ralph. I love now knowing stuff like this.