I wondered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
— William Wordsworth
I love the poetry by Wordsworth, and this is so fitting to this “right now” time. The weather has been so cold and wet and just plain nasty. We cannot walk out into our yard without bogging up to our ankles. Our poor cows are wallowing around in mud as they try to take care of their babies and get to the feeding rings that hold the golden-brown hay. I must admit I almost constantly annoy my husband every time he walks in because of the mud that turns loose from his treaded shoes. My little vacuum/sweeper stays plugged into the outlet at the end of my bar All. The. Time.
But do you know what I saw last week? DAFFODILS! I love this little floppy headed yellow throated flower because I know without a doubt that spring is on its way. There is an old house place across the pasture that has an abundance of these beautiful faithful little flowers. I told my husband he could pick me a big bouquet of these little yellow flowers and I would be delighted. This would be the best gift I could get. I would take these over roses any day.
I believe the reason I chose these as my favorite is the promise that they bring into our lives. When we see daffodils or hyacinths, tulips, peach trees budding, all the little purple wildflowers and wild onions covering our lawns then we know without a doubt our soils, as well as our souls are being refreshed and revived.
We usually plant a fairly large garden and every year after harvest, we always say, “We are not going to do this next year.” But my husband is chomping at the bit to get to Lowes to buy him a new tiller so that we can pant our early crop of lettuce, cabbage, and onions. It’s just an ardent and passionate feeling he has as he sees his labors come to fruition. He was born and raised as a country boy and that feeling, and attachment has never strayed far. His family raised all their food even killing a hog for meat during the winter. We will not go there!!
Okay, so it’s only six weeks until Mother Nature smiles on us and gives us a beautiful spring season. I’m sure we will have our green seedlings growing off into edible produce by that time because the DAFFODIL is already blooming!
Pork Chops and Stuffing
1 package of pork stuffing mix, prepared according to directions on box
1 can of apple pie filling with cinnamon
6 deboned pork chops, browned in 1 tablespoon olive oil
Spread pie filling into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan, and place pork chops on top. Spoon stuffing mix on top of chops, and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
