In Like a Lion ...

...and out like a lamb? Whatever the case may be ... March is here!

~ March brings breezes loud and shrill, stirs the dancing daffodil. ~

So how is the weather where you live? (Really, I'd love to know, please leave a comment if you have a moment!) Even though we still have snow on the ground, winter is losing its grip, and spring is nipping at its heels. This morning we set a pot of daffodils on the breakfast table and cracked open the window just a bit. Yes indeedy, the air might still be cool (all right, cold) but it smells like spring - drippy, muddy, windy, wonderful spring!

So away go the winter books, and out come the (early) spring ones. Books about maple trees and seed babies, fishing frogs and nesting birds. And from Flower Fairies of the Spring, we have the ...

~ Song of the Daffodil Fairy ~

I'm everyone's darling: the blackbird and starling
Are shouting about me from blossoming boughs;
For I, the Lent Lily, the Daffy-down-dilly,
Have heard through the country the call to arouse,
The orchards are ringing with voices a-singing
The praise of my petticoat, praise of my gown;
The children are playing, and hark! they are saying
That Daffy-down-dilly is come up to town!

The Lent Lily - how neat is that? :)

Speaking of daffodils, today is the Feast of Saint David of Wales, a day when Welshmen (and women) proudly wear daffodils in their buttonholes and by tradition serve hot steaming bowls of Leek soup.

Funny story - growing up I always thought my family was Welsh because of the way my grandmother pronounced her family name (actually, Walsh) and because my dad loved to eat Welsh Rarebit. Lol. Well come to find out, we're not actually Welsh, but nevertheless, it would be fun to celebrate.

To this end, I'll pop over to Matilda's for lots of links including one to a Welsh Rarebit recipe! I also found the Red Dragon story in our Tales of Great Dragons coloring book. Perfect for our middle ages study! (And not to get too far off-tangent here, but the boys will get a kick out of this dragon information page, as it details the "Welsh Green" from Harry Potter.) :) Sherry also has a great Saint David's Day post and it was there I learned of this saint's last recorded words:

"Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed. Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about. I will walk the path that our fathers trod before us."

And so with spring just around the corner, a young(ish) mother's heart turns to thoughts of ... 

• spring cleaning
• nature study
• wayside walks
• new routines

All good topics for posts in the near future! I wish you a blessed and beautiful March, and I hope you soon see a day like the one Wordsworth describes here:

          It is the first mild day of March:
          Each minute sweeter than before
          The redbreast sings from the tall larch
          That stands beside our door.

          There is a blessing in the air,
          Which seems a sense of joy to yield
          To the bare trees, and mountains bare,
          And grass in the green field.