Spring Is in the Air

Today is so warm that much of the snow we got on Sunday has melted. I went out to look at the garden, and to my surprise the poppy is coming back already. This seems too early - could a cold snap finish it off? - but it is hardy to Zone 3, and we are in Zone 5, so I am hopeful it will be fine. More than fine, actually. Maybe this year it will bloom. Last year I planted it, and it seemed to die, but right at the end of the summer it was coming back. Since it blooms in June, that was too late for it to produce any flowers, but I am hoping it just needed a year to adjust to its new home, and this year it will be covered in scarlet blossoms. It already looks as if it has sent up a second leaf whorl, so maybe there will be two poppy plants this year. (Someone told me they spread like weeds - maybe that's true! Maybe in a couple of years I'll be asking who among my readers would like some poppy plants.) The poppy's story mirrors the whole charm of spring, of new hope after the death of winter. No coincidence that Christ's Passion happened in the spring. Like the poppy, He seemed to be dead to the world, but He came back stronger than ever, spreading His message everywhere. If poppies just bloomed a little closer to Easter, maybe they would have been associated with the holiday, since they make such a good symbol.

Famous Hat