After the Tulip Tour

The tulips and daffodils have bloomed en masse, in the surrounding fields. The tourists who came to enjoy them, have gone away. March and April brought excitement to our ordinarily placid lives, but we are glad to get back to normalcy. May is almost here and will undoubtedly bring warmer days. Our gardens will take over the spotlight and the big fields will be populated with large farm machinery busily working up the ground and with famers planting other, less exotic crops. It is a relief to be able to take a quick dash to town for groceries or supplies without being held up by clogged roads from the cars of expectant visitors. Our spring was exceptionally early this year and many of the flower hungry tourists came too late to see them in their highest glory. Indeed, some of the blooms had been topped already by the diligent bulb growers. In our yards and gardens, lilacs are in bloom, rhododendrons and azaleas are coming into their full beauty and perennial and annual baskets are decorating our homes. Peonies and Asiatic poppies are blazing in the sun. Our valley is still beautiful and you are invited to come again for a more relaxed and less frantic visit. Written: 4/25/16