I have been meaning to write a blog to this switch-to-spring effect, but right after I got the idea, it got cold again! So I postponed. But the fields are starting to look furry with green leaves and yellow flowers, and the grass is overtaking the sidewalks, and there are red tulips EVERYWHERE. Cold or not, wearing two pairs of sweats, two sweatshirts and socks or not, I will write this blog!
Overnight, spring arrived. I'd say it was about 2-3 weeks ago. We went from barren, muddy desolation to green shoots and buds all over the trees. In my own backyard, one filled with fruit trees and a newly cultivated garden, I was treated to a white snowfall of apricot blossoms. The green shoots quickly revealed their true intent: daffodils and tulips. It seems that life just wants to grow, in every corner of earth it can find. Even my dog, normally happy to stay within the compound of my tall stone wall, has been eager and even ninja-like to leap out of the gate every morning to go off exploring this new world. And it is certainly beautiful!
For all their utilitarianism, I was surprised that Ukrainians plant so many flowers simply for beauty's sake. Seriously, this is a culture where if a corrugated steel sheet can serve as a wall to a shed, then it will be used. So many families cannot afford anything else, and so they simply make do. But flowers. They will plant red tulips, rose bushes, daffodils, these pretty yellow/orange flowers and lilacs just for the beauty of them. That patch of rich soil could easily provide a week's worth of potatoes, but instead, it will add a different kind of sustenance. And this is a new and delightful observation for me.
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