Published: March 29, 2008 11:36 pm            

DRINKWALTER: Winter tulips and Whirly Birds

LOCKPORT — According to the calendar, spring arrived a little over a week ago. That means the flowers will finally begin peeking out after their long winter’s rest. The winter before, Paul, my husband, planted 80 tulip bulbs in one of the flower beds in the front yard in mid-January. (As you may recall, winter didn’t rear its ugly little head until after Christmas that winter. Even then, an occasional dusting was all we had.

Figuring the bulbs would die if he didn’t plant or freeze them; he rented a plugger to make deep holes in the ground and firmly planted each bulb under the still warm soil. After he finished, it looked like a mole had been frolicking in the dirt. There was soil sprinkled over the fresh dusting of snow and it was really messy. I looked at him and looked at the mess and didn’t say a word. I didn’t need to. Paul responded to “the look” with, “Don’t worry, I’ll clean it up,” and he did. He smoothed out the dirt and threw some handfuls of snow over the soil.

Our friends across the way noticed him out there planting bulbs in January and shook their heads; I’m sure they were wondering what that crazy guy across the road was doing now? Remembering how the day before he planted whirly bird lawn ornaments in theirs and some of the other neighbor’s lawns without asking. (Then I wonder why we get “booed” for a Halloween prank and have joke gifts left on our doorstep.) “What’s next,” I asked, “Pink Flamingoes? It’s getting a bit too cheesy for my liking.”

The reason Paul had the bulbs and lawn ornaments in the first place was because the company he works for did an auction for a greenhouse that was going out of business. There he ended up buying 70 whirly birds along with the tulip bulbs. He then began “sharing” them with friends and neighbors.

Anyway, a few months later while spring was trying to muster up its colorful splash, I drove in the driveway and saw about a dozen tulips in full bloom, perched up in the flower bed. “Wow,” I thought “Wha haaapen?” On closer inspection I realized they were fake, frauds, phony as a diamond zirconium wedding band.

I walked in the house stymied and Paul told me that he too came home and thought “Cool, I didn’t even notice those tulips were coming up.” He was excited until he got a closer look, laughed and knew exactly who planted them. There were footprints in the snow with long strides between them heading across the road. Our tall friend across the way was surely the one who left the footprints in the snow. Apparently, he bought pots of fake tulips after watching Paul diligently planting all those bulbs and was waiting for the right time to come over and “plant” the posers in the bed where the tulips were due to bloom.

Fake or not, they looked so nice I decide to keep them planted until the real tulips came up. Sure enough, 77 of the 80 tulips that were planted a few short months before came up and bloomed beautifully.

I’m ready for spring and ready to revel in the long days of warm sunshine and waiting to spend some time nurturing the gardens. We get tired of feeling like a mailbox on a country road that’s been hit by the snowplow one too many times after a long winter. But, hey, it won’t be long. Wait a minute. Are those daffodils blooming out there? Or aren’t they?

Deb Drinkwalter is a Lockport resident. Her column appears every Sunday. Send comments to d.drinkwalter@yahoo.com.

        

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