Tulip Cuppa Sunshine - Missoula, Montana

Sending out a little tulip cuppa sunshine amidst this gloriously stormy day…

Winter Tulip, Missoula, Montana

Occasionally, I pause to ponder how amazing are the conveniences and technologies that we take for granted. Today I considered it pretty astonishing that I can enjoy the hopeful bloom of fresh flowers while a winter storm rages outside. I mean, from how far away did this tulip travel to arrive - still fresh - on this blustery day? When you stop and think on it, we've grown up with and consider commonplace what would have been looked on as marvels 70,50, or even 20 years ago. So, for this harbinger of spring, I am thankful.

Thumbelina Tulip - Missoula, Montana

"“It is a beautiful flower,” said the woman, and she kissed the red and golden-colored leaves, and while she did so the flower opened, and she could see that it was a real tulip. Within the flower, upon the green velvet stamens, sat a very delicate and graceful little maiden. She was scarcely half as long as a thumb, and they gave her the name of “Thumbelina,” or Tiny, because she was so small. A walnut-shell, elegantly polished, served her for a cradle; her bed was formed of blue violet-leaves, with a rose-leaf for a counterpane. " - From 'Thumbelina', by Hans Christian Anderson (1805-1875)

Orange-Red Tulip, Missoula, Montana

Holiday Repost: 20 May 2012
“I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.”

- Edna St. Vincent Millay

(Note: To aid spring planting dreams, check out happydiyhome.com!)

Tulip Bouquet, Hamilton, Montana

Beta Sigma Phi sells the most amazing tulips for their annual charity fundraiser.
I may not be able to resist sharing more.

Spring Tulips, Hamilton, Montana

It's getting close to the annual tulip sale held by the Hamilton, Montana, chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, as a fundraiser for local charities.

OrangeRed Tulip ,Missoula Montana

“I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.”
- Edna St. Vincent Millay

Spring Flowers Bring...More Snow - MIssoula, Montana

Last week certainly blew through Montana with varied change - our first work-at-home Monday under statewide directive, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake next door in Idaho, sunny days followed by  widespread snowstorms  (with bonus deer bedded down in our townie yard!), a power outage that had us snuggling in for hours ...

And still it was spring, with grape hyacinths and other whatnot blooming and tulip leaves starting up through the snow. Even in the tiniest shred of earth in a crack in a cracked, dingy sidewalk, new life insists its message of hope be seen in brilliant quack-grass green. 
And amidst our global anxious wondering at what happens next, we hold on to hope, share wishes for a blessed Easter, and will say tomorrow, "Christ is risen!" - "He is risen, indeed!".

Tulip Molt, Missoula, Montana

Once tulips and other flowers molt, we usually don’t spare them any appreciative glances.
Yet a different beauty, perhaps of line or subtle colour, may linger past the lushness of full bloom. So, keep your eyes open for unexpected grace.

Brave Tulip - Missoula, Montana

My wish for more March snow has been granted - hurrah! Such keen delight to see full-on fluffy stuff blizzarding sideways past our office windows. Of course, being that we live under Montana's mercurial sky, another glance not much later displayed a serene blanket of snow. And later still, the snowing and blowing up bushels of fun had recommenced! And the tulips soldier on toward eventual blooming.

Just One Drop, Missoula, Montana

Stalwart little tulip, making the most of early spring rain.

I can image the wee faeries stopping by to admire their reflections, perhaps dip in hands to cool faces hot from a busy spring day’s work.

Plumb’s project song for Blood: Water Mission, “One Drop”, is a perfect spritely accompaniment to any kind of springy efforts. Take a listen here.

Tulip Promise - Missoula, Montana

"This I saw on an April day:
Warm rain spilt from a sun-lined cloud...
A flash of blue in a cool moss bank,
And tips of tulips promising flowers
To a blue-winged loon."
-  James Hearst (1900-1983)

(Sorry - bursting tulips won't wait for me to hold this poem for an April post!)