Here I am on the last day of February trying to conjure up spring. In two weeks Daylight Saving Time begins, that's always a big boost to the psyche. Sunlight, at least for me, is a required element for my very existence. Then we have St. Patrick's Day, you know the day when all the non-Irish of the world get together and drink and green beer is sold by the barrels. Oh, yes Artichoke O'Annie has in past years been a raucous part of those very celebrations, now if I am lucky I might manage at wee bit of corned beef and cabbage for the nightly table.
But what all of this yakking about is really leading up to is the fact that true spring will arrive on Saturday, March 20 at 1:32 pm EDT. Are you ready for it? Dust off those white shoes and get out your sleeveless dresses (I'm talking to you guys as well), pull your hair back in a ponytail and top it off with a cute bow. IT WILL BE SPRING!
You are probably wondering why I'm calling this edition Wisteria and featuring the above photo – well because I wanted to share with you what spring was like for me when I was a little girl. A portion of our backyard was covered with a Wisteria vine and looked much like the one pictured here when it was in full bloom.
It was truly beautiful this lavender canopy I danced under. I even remember a parasol my brother gave me, something he was given that was used in a Hollywood movie, which one I can't recall. Just that it was made out of clear cellophane that had been ruffled around the edges and sprinkled with tons of sparkles.
I would twirl and leap and spin on one foot to the music in my head under, not the stars, but my homegrown canopy of draped wisteria blooms. Then, too soon, I grew too big to fit into those special dancing shoes and in time moved away from the house with the Wisteria that bloomed each spring.
But what has never changed over all these so many, many years is that when I do see a Wisteria blossom I am taken back in time to my childhood and my dancing shoes; to music in my head and a sparkling parasol and most of all a canopy of lavender overhead.
ANNIE, SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW IS A WISTERIA TREE. OH YES THERE IS ONE SO BEAUTIFUL AND I THINK IT'S AT YOUR HOUSE,AT LEAST THIS PICTURE COULD BE YOUR HOUSE. I LOVE WISTERIA.
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PS. WHEN WE MOVE FROM DALLAS TO FLORIDA I PLANTED A WISTERIA THAT I FOUND ON A EMPTY LOT. I DUG IT UP AND PUT IT IN THE GROUND ALONG THE LOT LINE WHERE LIVED AT THE TIME. WE OWNED THE LOT NEXT DOOR.NOW THERE'S A HOUSE THERE. I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT WISTERIA OVER THE YEARS AND JUST WONDERED IF IT SURVIVED. TG
ReplyDeleteBeautiful indeed! I live very close to the huge Wisteria Festival that they have in Sierra Madre, CA. I think the bloom is the largest one on record. Look it up, I think you will enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Beth
Annie, thanks for sharing your memories and helping me to "dig up" a few of my own! I thought of my grandmother's yard..the roses and hollyhocks and columbine. Even though we lived in NE people even from Cali. would pull up and look at her flowers. It was truly a lovely thing. Also mentioning St. Patty's day brings back a TON of memories as I grew up in the town of O'Neill (NE that is!!) Green beer flowed and parades and green ice cream and mulligan stew! Thanks again for sharing!
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