Violets & Snow

It snowed on Monday.

So I hurried outside to bring the Johnny jump-ups indoors. Of all the sweet flowers of early spring, none are more adorable than than tri-color violas that come in so many colors there's something for everyone from the deepest purple to the softest creams. 

There are more common names for violas than any other plant in the flower world.  The names often give a nod to love and romance, but all are charming:  love-in-idleness, Cupid's flower, tickle-my-fancy, kiss-her-in-the-pantry, Kit-run-in-the-fields, monkey faces, peeping Toms, three-faces-under-a-hood, heartsease, and the name I've always known them by Johnny jump-ups.

Yes, even during an April snow, the sweet faces of pansies make me smile. 

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Tomorrow you won't find a new Cape Cod post.  Instead, I'm planning a special Earth day presentation. I sure hope it works! 

Have a great day!

Earth Day Celebration

“It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.”

This year, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, my daughter and grandson celebrated by heading to George Bible Park to pick up litter. Armed with a bag, a camera, and backpack, the three of us walked the paths that meander in and out of the woods. We were outside breathing in the fresh air and letting this tiny microcosm of the world fill us with the joy and wonder.

"The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction."

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, “What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I’d never see it again?”

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”

"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life."

“If I had the influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.”

"Beginnings are apt to be shadowy..."

"I wanted to make my own mark."

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter."

I have quoted Rachel Carson exclusively. She wrote the powerful book, Silent Spring in the 60s, but her words ring as true today as ever.

I hope you celebrated Earth Day in your own way and found a moment to consider this magical, wonderful place we call earth.