The lungwort in the front garden is in full bloom. What an ugly name for a pretty plant. It was fun just now to look up the origin of the name, however I like the other colloquial names for it much better: Spotted dog, Jerusalem cowslip, Soldiers & Sailors.
I like it because it has such fun polka-dotted leaves and it flowers for a really long time, and then it flowers again, and also it just keeps coming up year after year without my having to do anything much. I like low-maintenance plants, since I’m the world’s most indifferent gardener. I love the IDEA of a garden and can muse and browse for a surprisingly long time through garden photos and ideas, but actually doing anything about it? Not going to happen.
Despite the fact that the temperature is very slowly rising, the leaves haven’t burst out yet, though one can tell that they’re on the verge. Today the bird cherries looked swollen and ready to pop into bright whiteness at any moment…if tomorrow is nice, they’ll blow for sure. All the daffodils in Malmö are up and blooming, though we, a scant 30 minutes north, are still a ways behind.
I got flowers at work this week and public recognition from my boss for the hard work I’ve been doing lately. It was nice, but my cynical self was whispering behind my brain, “Uh huh, now show me the money.” I’m enjoying the roses, though. They’re hugely round pinky-orange ruffled beauties and they smell heavenly.
Yesterday I saw the first butterfly and the first bumblebee of spring. The blackbirds have suddenly reappeared and are hopping about, trilling madly, nest-building in pairs. What is that lightening feeilng? My mood? The lengthening day? The barely felt sense of a shift. We’re not just in endless waiting mode anymore, it’s nearly here.
In two weeks I’m heading to the States to work. I’m looking forward to it, though I bet I will be flattened by jetlag, not having 2 weeks of vacation first like I did last year. I can’t wait to see my mom and get some good work time with my American colleagues and spend a sure-to-be rejuvenating weekend with Bluepoppy and the Brombie mob at Soliden. I’m planning to visit with an old high school buddy and most exciting, I will get to meet another online friend that I have been reading since I started this here journal-thing back in 2003. Chuck lives in Seattle and I figured our chances of ever actually getting together were slim to none, because there isn’t much chance of my getting to Seattle and equally little chance of his getting to Sweden, but his daughter lives near Boston, which is near where I’ll be working and he’s flying out to visit her and my mom and I will get to meet them both!
That’s the best thing about this journal. The people I’ve met through it, even when I haven’t met them yet, and most especially, when I do.
Big, Bright & Beautiful Belated Birthday Wishes to travelertrish!