Can you see what I see?
Yes! The daffodils are coming up in our garden.
It's an interesting biological fact that daffodils are as smart as some human beings, at least when it comes to forecasting the weather. Daffodils are the dolphins of the bulbous perennial world. These little shoots, spotted Wednesday morning, are clear and irrefutable evidence that Spring is here. No more winter. No more icy cold weather. No more snowstorms. You can't argue with the daffodils.
So I went sailing.
I hitched up my Laser and went over to Bristol.
The temperature was in the mid 40s and the wind around 5-8 knots.
Perfect Spring sailing weather.
While I was rigging, a cyclist about my age came over to look at my boat (as they do.)
He didn't say what cyclists usually say. ("Is that a Sunfish?") He actually knew it was a Laser.
He had what sounded to me like an Australian accent and he said that he used to sail a Tasmanian Tiger. He implied it was similar to a Laser.
I had never heard of a Tasmanian Tiger. I had to look it up on the Wikipedia afterwards. Apparently it is now extinct.
Tasmanian Tiger
Not a Laser
Not a tiger
Now extinct
Then I had a wonderful sail on the harbor.
There wasn't a single boat on the moorings.
There wasn't any other boat of any kind on the harbor all the time I was sailing.
Perfect solitude!
Towards the end of my sail I saw several skeins of geese winging across the sky.
It's an interesting biological fact that geese are as smart as some human beings, at least when it comes to forecasting the weather. Geese are the dolphins of the waterfowl world. These skeins of geese were clear and irrefutable evidence that Spring is here. No more winter. No more icy cold weather. No more snowstorms. You can't argue with the geese.
7 comments:
But you can squabble with a squab, be unpleasant with a pheasant, be jerky with a turkey
Dear Tillerman,
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SAILING-BOAT-TASMAN-TIGER-ON-GAL-TRAILER-HANDY-MAN-SPECIAL-GREAT-PROJECT-/251424416779?pt=AU_Boats&hash=item3a8a10240b
PS "harbour" not "harbor"
Steve
Sounds like you and your tiger are ready to attack this Sunday.
Will we see you you sailing ?
Or perhaps debate with a primate?
Baydog - I like your thinking. I see my2fish does too. Where is O Docker when we need him?
Steve - that Tiger, if not extinct, is definitely on life support. As for my spelling, when in Rome….
Anonymous #2 - Sunday? Will it still be Spring?
Baydog, you could interrogate a skate, cross-examine a salmon, or have a tsetse fly testify.
All of them would say it is an interesting biological fact that we need a good winter to appreciate the spring.
Here in California's smug, complacent central valley, our winter is an imposter. He may call himself winter, but he's incompetent at snow. Our streets know no slush. Our daffodils are lost in a January carpet of lush greenery. Despite his icy name, our winter is our greenest season.
Californians mope about, whining that it's too cold today for shorts and a tee shirt. Or that it's, OMG, raining! They haven't been confined to quarters for a month by snowdrifts.
The magic of the daffodil is completely lost on them.
I went sailing again yesterday in lovely Spring weather. Today we have a gentle Spring shower so I am leaving my boat out in the rain to rinse it. I don't even need to get the hose out! It's an interesting biological fact that January showers bring February flowers.
Post a Comment