Pulling dandelions

May has been a soggy month. I am not sure if it is a record, but in northern Vermont, we are all beginning to feel mildewed as well as cranky. But yesterday, there was a gap between thunderclouds, and we had a few brief hours of sunshine. Lawnmowers whirred, sneakers were donned, and I went home to pull dandelions.

Unexpected pleasure! Deeply wet, the earth gives them up without a sigh, right down to the end of their rope-like roots. Do you know how long a dandelion root is? I had been told that they were very long, but I had no idea. Some I pulled were three feet long or more. Ha! Gotcha! Out of my herb garden!

Pulling dandelions, then curling up to comfort a big dog afraid of thunder. Seeing that the crabapple did bloom after this mild winter. It bloomed and bloomed—an explosion of pink. Perhaps it knew that I almost had it cut down in April. These are the joys of May in a land where spring runs long.