The lonely tulip was wavering in the stiff breeze; its petals tattered and torn but still hanging in there with a brilliant hue of red and yellow. Others in this small planting of spring bulbs had succumbed to the cold and wet weather, their stems broken and lying upon the ground with flower heads wilted and brown. A few stragglers encased in tight buds and somewhat stunted may never bring forth their suppressed illumination.
Ice pellets fall upon the earth’s surface, cooling the lingering effects of the evasive late April sunshine. The ground struggles to warm as the changeable weather arrives each spring day. A battle within nature itself wears upon all inhabitants of the region, from the lonely tulip to birds, reptiles and humans.
Another cold storm enters our space as it has many times in the past. A repeat, an encore, a submission to yet endure the fickle and folly of the unpredictable season is called to order.
Snows high in the mountains also blanket the multitude of wildflowers yet to awake from their now quite long slumber. Unlike the lonely tulip left to survive on its own, these sublime creations of nature will eventually sprout upward as the protective blanket of snow retreats.
