Posted by Wayne G. Barber
Forsythia's and Daffodill's at Old Homeplaces.
In our present Northeast Quiet Corner Connecticut residence there is a good size group of Yellow Forsythia's that are bursting with buds in March every year unless the local whitetail deer herd struggles with a high snow cover or a abundant supply of mast to sustain them to spring. I will ask my daughter-in-law if by chance they were a gift from our former residence. I’ve always called the cheery herald of spring, yellow daffodil, Gramma Barber sometimes calls them jonquils. A few other names I’ve heard folks use for the flower are March lily, March flower, Easter lily, Easter flower, and even buttercup.
I love the daffodils that I had sprinkled around my previous backyard, but I also love the ones I see at old homeplaces as I go about my way to and through Burrillville and beyond.
My mind drifts back to those people who planted them and I wonder who they were and why did their homes disappear into the landscape. Rot, fire, disease ? Stones and foundations protrude through the brush and saplings on every rural road in our part of New England and the perennials will outlive the wooden structures from years gone by. Gramma Barber, gave me many of tours on the 352 acre remains of the Cooper/ Barber farm where the slave residence once stood and all that was left was the center chimney with 6 fireplaces and the farm foreman's foundation and hand dug wells also. The flowers were still coming back every spring and then the Lilacs were next to bud and bloom in old outhouse locations or near a kitchen window for a free air freshener. Gramma Cook gave a glimpse of the old her childhood Vose family farmstead in Cumberland, then Tarklin and then in Mapleville that also had the hardy spring flowers in perpetuity. Now to find one of our many grandchildren to pass on the locations of our many ancestors.
Lilacs, Forsythia and Daffodills remember when people are long gone.
Thank You, for reading this and for tuning in to our Outdoor Scene radio program every Sunday at 9 am on wnri.com
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