Spring Beauty

     That's the name of the tiny white flowers that, along with a profusion of wild violets, cover the front yard here at Roseholme Cottage, along with much of the back yard.  They're why I delay the first lawn mowing of the year, too.  The violets come back but Spring Beauty declines considerably after it has been mowed.

     I have been out with my old-fashioned dandelion puller, waging slightly-futile war with the lawn-dragon; I like them, but they are prolific and would take over if left unchecked.  So, too, would the Winter Creeper that lurks along the fences around the back yard, snaking tentacles toward the garage and trying to climb the hackberry tree.  Keeping after it takes constant work.  (There's "Creeping Charlie," too, with a square stem, ruffled semi-circular leaves and an appealing aroma when cut, but it's better-behaved and has been used as a spice; I don't bother it much unless it goes after the tree.)

     But it's worth it.  I have yards full of flowers, for a very little effort.  I need to get some more topsoil and replant the wildflowers in the front flower bed.  Tam has been hinting about clearing the back raised bed for vegetables -- and time's a-wasting!  It's got a lot of violets, a lot of leaves, and a patch of half-wild green onions we'll probably want to keep.

     Winter might finally be over.