The Pansy; a Floral Dedication

The “cold-weather” pansies are now for sale and although it’s only nearing the end of March there’s a good chance they will survive well into summer. Unless the temperatures fall precipitously their only enemy is high wind. I’ve been checking the stock of the little nursery in my neighborhood for a couple of weeks now and yesterday I think I was their first pansy customer of ‘07. So now there is fresh, sparkling water in the birdbath and the surrounding brickwork has been swept clean of winters’ debris, so my newly potted urn of pansies is brilliantly central and definitely the first sign that spring has sprung in my backyard (I don’t do crocus). This urn of floral insouciance is dedicated (with love and concern) to my friend Ismael who, as we speak, is suffering his own bout of high winds at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Mass. If we agree that bright little flowers can cure the spirit, Mima, I’m symbolically planting a forest of redwoods outside your window.