Trumpeting

To the editor:
    Spring, when it finally arrives has a way of sneaking up on a person. One day there is nothing. The next day it is a virtual riot as every blooming plant seems to have something to say.     Taking the train over to Birmingham this week for some classes, clumps of the yellow flowers were everywhere. Many of the spots were tucked away in places where you do not expect to find them. Dug up by rats, badgers, and rabbits, the bulbs have survived a year in the ground. Now they are leaping out and heralding the arrival of spring. Joining are the apple blossoms, tulips, and even the dandelion. It is expected that the trees and bushes will leaf out in the next few days, always an encouraging sign.
    Almost every community has a small section of community gardens. You get a few square feet of garden and you are free to plant your choice of vegetables and flowers. So along with the site of daffodils are the crowds of people out on their gardens digging in and planting the various cabbages, radishes, potatoes, and turnips that make up the staple foods of British heritage. Weeds look out!
    The town of Stratford-upon-Avon is getting itself spiffied up for a major birthday party. Their favorite son is about to have a new picture unveiled. Shakespeare’s picture which you will find in a variety of books is an approximation. A few years ago, someone happened to visit a showing of the known likenesses of the writer and realized that he had a picture that looked very much like the ones on display and it was in his family’s collection of paintings of notable relatives! Alerting the Birthplace Trust, efforts were made to verify the accuracy and provenance of the painting. Well, the verdict is in and so the community is going to have a birthday party.
    Parade clothes are being cleaned and repaired, windows washed, and streets swept. Already a very clean town, the city workers are putting out the best. The idea is that there will be a parade from his birthplace to the home where he lived in his final years. A perfect time to welcome spring.
    The flowers are doing their best to be ready in their Sunday best. While there is still snow up home, and I will hear of stories of snow until July, when you see those first yellow blooms come out of the mud enjoy the moment. Summer will not be far behind.