It is a delight to be the spouse of a hard working, joy-filled, dedicated man.



Sunday, April 5, 2009

Ode to Dil a Down Daffy

Today's flower at Vicktory Farm and Gardens is the daffodil.
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Pierce County, Washington has celebrated her daff-o-down-dillies since they began to replace the hops as the Puyallup valley's main crop in the twenties.
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Kai says, "Lets go to the Daffodil Parade."
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The parade goes through downtown Tacoma, Puyallup, main street Sumner, and little Orting.
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Old guys and their old trucks and tractors, what would a parade be without them?
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Growing up, the valley was hillside to hillside, foot hill to bay filled with daffodils this time of year.
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There is quite a Scottish contingent in Pierce Co.
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A big bright drum,
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And a ol's scot on his bag o' pipes.
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Anne and Kai, anticipating what is coming next.
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All daffodils are part of the very large Narcissus family of flowers.
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These parade horses are ridden by the Tacoma Lariettes, a woman's exclusive drill team.
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More parade horses from the Medieval Fair.
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Narcissus include Paper whites, Jonquils, and Angel Tears.
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The best way to see a parade is on some one's shoulders.
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Daffodils are the first to bloom of the larger spring flowering bulbs, they come at a time in the Pacific Northwest when spring has really arrived.
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What parade would be complete with out floats?
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The theme is "Swing Into Spring" and I feel I have definitely swung!
_ It was a beautiful day for the parade yesterday and today was even better!
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All of the Pierce County's high schools participate in the Daffodil Festival, each school chooses a princess, that float is covered in daffodils.
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The Daffodil Festival officials are called Daffodillians and wear these lovely yellow jackets, I wonder if the lady on the left takes her jacket with her when she has her hair colored?
_ Sunshine and parades just make you feel like smoochin' something! Anna was getting kisses from Aksel all day long!
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Have I mentioned I hate slugs? Have I mentioned how much I appreciate that slugs don't prefer daffodils?
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Going to the parade on a sunny Saturday afternoon, marching in the band in the parade or watching a friend in the parade was always an event not to be missed.
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When I was a girl we took Sunday drives and the first ones in the spring to see the daffodil fields where definitely a toot on a horn.
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I like the bands that have very traditional uniforms.
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But Eatonville High School Cruisers have a very clever twist on the non-traditional uniform. Timber cruising involves walking or “cruising” a forest in order to measure the trees and collect other information about the forest.
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A sunny day, a sunny tuba, a sunny smile,
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a sunny flower. See more flowers at Today's Flowers a great place to see flowers from all over the world, some exotic and some common, all beautiful.

Dear Reader, I hope you had a good weekend, mine has been very good, and very spontaneous, thanks to my oldest daughter and my grandsons. This was a good Palm Sunday and I pray that everyone has drawn closer to God as they reflected on our Savior and the beginning of His Passion.

18 comments:

Ted M. Gossard said...

Daffodils are lovely and among Deb's favorite flowers. She likes them and Tiger Lillies best. Nice parade, does look rather nippy out there.

I remember my one grandpa's Farmall tractor that looked much like that, and I remember riding on it, right in the fields.

Yes, yesterday the Sunday of Holy Week was a good day in our gathering.

KathyB. said...

I remember watching one of my sister-in-laws in the parade, she was a daffodil princess. I especially loved the Scots with their bagpipes and drums! Nice day for a parade too, wasn't it?

Arija said...

Looks like a great day for all concerned.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Lanny: What a wonderful parade for a neat flower that will even reproduce in the wild.

Sparky said...

That looks like such fun! My favorite picture is the Smiley Face Tuba. That's so cute. :o)

Susie said...

The parade looks like so much fun! What a beautiful day you had for it too!

I enjoyed all the pics of the daffodils.

deedee said...

What a nice weekend. I love all the pictures. Grandson is a real cutie!

Anonymous said...

SUCH A LOVELY DAY TO ENJOY A PARADE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY. MEMORIES TO LAST THE LITTLE ONES A LIFETIME! HOPE YOU HAVE A NICE WEEK AND A BLESSED EASTER LANNY.

Anonymous said...

Very much a spring parade and looks like a lot of fun was had by many people. Lovely pictures.

CJ xx

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

beautiful! and i want to ride on that red tractor so bad!!! have a lovely week lanny!

smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

How fun! It was a perfect day for a parade. I can't believe I've never heard of that one before. My sister lived in Puyallup for years and never mentioned it. She's not really that into gardening though, maybe that's why.

Day4plus said...

Our valley here was and still is full of Daffs. I remember going to the Daffodil parade many years ago. Fun times.
Now it is the Tulip Festival up here in Skagit Valley. More fun. MB

DeniseinVA said...

What a fun, fun post. Enjoyed all your photos and commentary immensely. A great way to celebrate spring. Thanks for sharing and have a great week.

LindaSue said...

Quite the interesting running commentary - nothing like a small(ish) town's festivals to show America at it's most charming. Thanks for letting us see - the daffies and the dils and the lady with hair the color of her coat!

Carol............. said...

I remember the parade from when I lived in Pierce County!

Fun pictures...thanks!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Lanny this was so interesting! The photographs were so great! I loved the bag pipers..what fun it must have been to hear them play. Thanks for taking us along to the Daffy Festival! Spring has arrived for you! Thats means it can't be too far behind for the rest of us! :)

Luiz Santilli Jr said...

Lanny

One post and two great events:
- a wonderful and fun parade;
- marvelous yellow flowers!
Thanks for posting for TODAY'S FLOWERS.

Luiz

Connie said...

The parade looks like it was a lot of fun, Lanny. I loved all the daffodils. They are one of my favorites. Great post!