There is a section of central Kansas known as the Flint Hills. This area is the last large expanse of tallgrass prairie in the country. During the westward expansion in the 1800’s, the settlers found the land was not good for their traditional crops because of the outcroppings of limestone and flint. Cattle ranching became the main agricultural activity, so the land was not ploughed over and remained intact. Due to the abundant rainfall the past few months, everything is wonderfully green. The hills undulate and roll slowly across the countryside, and at sunset they take on a golden hue. It is an area where the horizon is a long way off, and one can revel in the beauty of the expanse in an almost 360 degree vista.
spring
A lush green spring in southern Missouri
We’ve just returned from a full week of traveling, bookmarked on each end with a graduation; one nephew’s college graduation and another nephew’s high school graduation (congrats to them both – I couldn’t be more proud!). The first part of the week found us in southern Missouri, south of Branson. With all the rain that has fallen (including while we were there), everything is a beautiful and lush green. The Ozark mountains were in their prime, and waterfalls were running full and fast. In other areas, flowers were in full bloom – iris and peonies, foxglove and phlox. We truly couldn’t have picked a better time for our trip. It was a great time to explore the area with its natural beauty – a wonderful relaxing time.
Scent of lilacs
Not only has spring blossomed into our visual senses, but it has now spread its delightful scents throughout the air. With a few days of warming temperatures the lilacs quickly burst into bloom. How wonderful to be stopped in my tracks when their scent was being carried by the light breeze across the yard! To me, that is the true sign of spring’s arrival and the dismissal of the dark of winter.
The return of spring
Finally! The colors of spring have returned to our Minnesota landscape. The white of winter gave way to the brown, prior to the green of spring. And now the flowers have burst into bloom, adding their yellows and pinks. Not only has the landscape brightened, but peoples’ moods have been buoyed by the bright colors too. A bed of daffodils was showcased in front of a showy field of tulips — the best of spring all in one spot, and all blooming at the same time. When I was a child, we would make “baskets” out of colored construction paper, put flowers in them, and hang them on the doors of our neighbors to celebrate May Day. I’m intending this post as the present-day equivalent to my readers. Happy May and spring!
Spring’s light
In my longing for the colors of spring, I wandered into the McNeely Conservatory at Como Park. My spirits rose as I took in the colors and smells of our long-awaited season of spring – an array of lilies, tulips, ranunculus, and daffodils. Flowers the colors of the sun — the light of spring that we crave so much after the cold and white of winter. From underneath these tulips the light from above made them glow and shimmer – an ephemeral hint at their fragility and short-lived life in the transition between winter and summer.
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