Daffodils! or ... a very long post about gathering daffodils while ye may, complete with horses and cat

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 leaves in glee;

A poet could not be but 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.

– William Wordsworth, 1804

We must be having just the right combination of cold days, warm days, rainy days and sunshiny days, because this year our daffodils and paperwhites are lasting and lasting. A few days ago I donned my trusty boots ...

 ... and walked out into the soggy pasture to gather a couple more bouquets for the season. We don’t have quite “ten thousand at a glance,” but what we do have are bee-yoo-tee-ful!

I love these little teeny ones. A little less than half-inch in diameter. So cute!

I wasn’t quite as lonely as a cloud, either, 

as Moustachio decided to join me on my quest.

Just a side note: last summer I got a little worried about Moustachio because he wasn’t eating as much as usual, probably because of the heat, and he got really skinny.

As you can see, I needn’t have worried.

Another side note ... when we were considering names, Paul and I being avid Agatha Christie fans, “Poirot” was a front runner. But “Moustachio the Magnificent” is the one that stuck. “Moustachio” for short. And his closest friends get to call him “Stache” for really short, although secretly I think he prefers “Your Magnificence.”

It was kind of a long walk over to where I was, 

so Moustachio, being the multi-tasking cat he is,

... decided to catch a quick nap on the way.

Here he is, guarding the loot.

A treasure well worth guarding!

What, you may wonder, is the secret behind so many glorious blooms?

Well ...

Yep, another good reason for wearing my trusty boots out in the pasture!

And here’s our bounty, waiting on the kitchen table 

to be made into little bouquets to share with friends. 

Hasta mañana, amigos!