Watching and waiting

If you live in Minnesota I have just one piece of advice for you. DON'T JUMP! Spring IS coming, I just know it. Despite the snow and yuck going on outside right now, I'm sure that spring is coming. You see, I have been watching and waiting for weeks.

Every year, it seems that by the time I get my flower bed uncovered, my early blooming bulbs are already up. I didn't want to miss it this year so I started watching for them a couple of weeks ago. Most of the snow had melted so I went outside and moved a few leaves around to see if there was any green. Even a few weeks ago I did find some green. I was so excited until I realized they were dandelions! Seriously, I think I have more dandelions in my yard now than I had last year before the first snow fall. Who knew that dandelions could grow even in the winter months?

But, this week, the bulbs started coming up! Oh, I LOVE the spring! The first bulbs to sprout in my yard are called scillia. They have tiny, little purple flowers that bloom in early May. They spread quickly (sometimes a little too quickly) and are the perfect thing to encourage me to get outside and start working on my garden. Every year about this time I start singing a somewhat corny chorus that I learned when I was much, much younger. It's called "I Believe in Miracles." Part of the song goes like this:

I've seen the lily push it's way up through the stubborn sod,
I believe in miracles 'cause I believe in God.

Truly, I watch the plants come back to life every year and I stand in awe at their tenaciousness. I mean really, it's stinkin' cold here in the winter months and yet faithfully, every year, the perennials come back to life and turn my yard from yuck to wow. Well, it would be wow if it weren't for those pesky dandelions!