Tuesday, May 1, 2012

May Day - Signs of Springtime

May Baskets

A sure sign of Spring - a secretly placed May basket of posies on the doorstep. It must be May 1st.
Today it was dark and dreary but that all changed when "Anonymous" hung a basket of loveliness on my door knob.  The custom is to ring and run after you've delivered your surprise.  I'm supposed to try to catch the fleeing giver and stop them with a kiss of thanks. I know who it was - I saw her feet walk by my window.

The gift tag

The tag was so sweet.  It made me want to cry.  A few of us dear friends no longer have our mothers by our sides so this message was all the more special. She used to make and deliver May day baskets with her mother when she was little and then the two of them would drive around town to ring and run.  
She is doing it in her mother's (and all our mothers) memory.  What a lovely memory to carry around.

The full view of the May basket

Can you see just how sweet this basket is?  It's a recycled can that's been painted then stuffed with soil, thyme, parsley and pansies.  Tied to the tag is a pair of gardening gloves sewn together with a vintage button.  

Suddenly, the day doesn't feel dreary ...

My mom's favorite little Springtime quote:

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils

~William Wordsworth

Thank you to my dear friend.



6 comments:

  1. My Dad used to recite that poem!!!

    Mary Anne

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    1. That is so cool. I remember my Mom always shared that little poem with us each Spring. She had a bunch of poems in her pocket for all the right occasions.

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  2. Such a lovely blog!

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  3. Thank you, Ellie, for bringing me back to the message that spring is for renewal and remembrance - I loved being reminded of Mama's (Queen of the May) WW poem Blessings to Anonymous.

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    1. C.
      Maybe an entire blog devoted to MaMa's vast inventory of poetry and musical ditties. Are we the only girls that grew up reciting poems and singing along to Lawrence Welk? Sometimes I feel like we really were from the 1940s. xo E.

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