I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth

[conuly]

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;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

*****

Link

1. I love this time of year. Specifically, I love looking in other people's yards, shaking my head, and saying "Tsk. Those people really need to divide their daffodils."

2. The daffodils I divided last year have all come up, though several are sulking and refusing to bloom. I get it.

3. My neighbor on the corner who grows a banana tree in his yard every year (we never get bananas, it's not warm enough for that) has several patches of daffodils on the tree lawn and also some traffic cones that National Grid or whoever left there last time they dug up the street. The other day I passed by and realized that one of those cones was right over a patch of daffodils struggling valiantly to clear the top! I moved the cone and the poor things flopped over, easily twice as tall in the leaves as any daffodil ought to be. Oh well.

Comments

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

The daffodils I dug out of the daffodil bed and planted along the hedge of the savanna mostly did bloom. But the daffodil bed still needs to be dug out again and replanted with more fresh ones.

Re: Yes ...

[conuly]

Daffodils are pretty, I'll grant them that, but all that digging up!

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Yeah, but I basically get buckets of free daffodils for the work, and most places sell them for $1+ per bulb (except for end-season bargains). I dug buckets out of that one bed, dozens, maybe over a hundred. I actually lost count.

Re: Yes ...

[conuly]

Yes, exactly! Buckets and buckets, and where do you put them all?

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I have about 2 acres, so there's always room for more, at least at the speed I'm capable of working. I think I put all the salvaged daffodils along the west hedge of the savanna. Some are just naturalized at random around the prairie garden. I make rings of them around many of the trees, part of the mini-guilds to attract pollinators and discourage pests.

[calimac]

How sweet to be a Cloud
Floating in the Blue!
It makes him very proud
To be a little cloud.

[conuly]

:D

[radiantfracture]

Specifically, I love looking in other people's yards, shaking my head, and saying "Tsk. Those people really need to divide their daffodils."

Love this.

[conuly]

They all need to divide their daffodils.

[minoanmiss]

Daffodilly post!

[conuly]

Daffy down Dilly has come to town
In her yellow petticoat and her green gown