Hinds County
News May 2016
The last day of
March I began my first journey back Mississippi, since selling my home, a year
and a half ago, my wonderful home of thirty years, to come back to Nebraska,
where I was born and raised, to be near family in my old age. It was hard leaving Mississippi when I left
the first time…it wasn’t any easier leaving this time. I will be back!!!
I began the trip
at first light, I leisurely motored along back roads, all the way…nearly a 1000
miles. What a lovely drive it was, the
morning I left Holdrege there were only miniscule hints that Spring might be
coming soon to Nebraska. I took highway
183 South through Kansas and Oklahoma, then Highway 70 across southern Oklahoma
and Arkansas, that is where spring took on color, Wisteria climbing in trees
that had not yet leafed out turning them purple…. The dogwood trees tucked in
to the edges of the woods were in full flower. Oh!! My favorite the azaleas
they were spectacular!
By the time I
cross over the Mississippi River at Greenville, into the Mississippi delta, it
was full blown Spring. The trees were
all leafed out, well that is not entirely true, there is always one exception….
the pecan trees. Bless’m they are the first
to drop their leaves in the Fall and last to acquire them in the Spring.
I was in hopes
that by the time I returned to Holdrege it would be Spring, was not to be… the trees
did not yet have their leaves, but thrilled to see the ornamental cherries, and
pears were in full flower….as were the dandelions, my yard was a carpet of
yellow, rather happy looking…I love the color yellow.
Recently I was among a group discussing the
dandelion, one meek little voice spoke up to say, “leave them for the bees” I must
say that was not the prevailing attitude of the gathered.
Folks up here
look down their noses at dandelions, my lawn in Mississippi if it was green I
mowed it and called it lawn! Now the
poison ivy, that was crawling in the grass and up the pecan trees, I, on
occasion, tried to kill it…but on after while I gave up that notion…. telling
myself it was okay because, some summers it was so hot and dry that the leaves
would just turn brown and plummet to the ground without ever turning color,
those years’ poison ivy gave us our prettiest fall color. I got to say in the fall, poison ivy is
spectacular…brilliant reds and oranges!
Back to the
dandelion saga, my yard was the only one on the block covered by the happy
yellow flowers and they did not go unnoticed. I do not know that I ever intentionally set
out to kill a dandelion…Oh whacked them with the weed eater…that does not kill
them, if anything whacking invigorates them.
With sadness in
my heart, I set out to deliberately kill the dandelions…went to the hardware
store and bought a sack of happy yellow flower eradicator… that was a week ago,
so far they do not seem to be at all daunted by my efforts, they are still
looking up and smiling at me. I must confess, I am somewhat relieved.
Hey I got to go
Love to all
