The Flower Hour #26: Lucky Flower Shots – Lucky Me

You know what luck is?  Luck is believing you’re lucky.†

Yesterday was meant to be my first solo outing of the spring.  We’ve established a very nice little routine for those days, Cam and I:  He drives to the golf club and leaps out (actually, at our ages, “leap” is the tiniest of exaggerations), I take the wheel and head out.  In the same order each time, I visit Wheatley Provincial Park, The Port of Wheatley, Hillman Marsh Conservation Area, Point Pelee National Park and finally the Caldwell First Nations’ Boardwalk.  These five venues form a near-perfect circle and at the boardwalk, I am just a two-minute drive to the club so I can happily linger ’til Cam calls for me.  We both come home hot, tired and blissfully happy.  That was the plan for yesterday as well, but…

Five minutes out of my bed I’d had my first syncope of the day, was not wearing my protective head band (yes, yes, my bad!) and cracked my head pretty hard on the stone in the bathroom.  I got a lovely, big, red bump for my efforts and a whopping great headache.  I decided, with much regret, to stay home.  

I. Am. Lucky.

I believe I am lucky!

As a surprise and treat for me, Cam cut short his golf (played just 9 holes), came right home, we scarfed a very quick lunch and then he took me out on my regular route.  I got new passes for Wheatley and Pelee, saw some interesting wildlife (that’s a story for another day) and, very luckily, caught some early spring wildflowers in full bloom.  Lucky!  ‘Though perhaps not exactly what the lovely Terri had in mind for this week, these, are my lucky flower shots:

Fanciful name “Faerie Flowers” because, in Celtic folklore, Bittercress blossoms belong to the Faeries and, by not picking them, one earns the favour of these beloved woodland sprites. 

In Gypsy (Romany) folklore, Trout Lily blossoms symbolise luck and the joy of spring.  They would pluck their flowers to hang on their caravans.

Being one of the earliest spring blossoms, Siberian Squills symbolise hope and new beginnings.  In eastern European folklore, these flowers are imbued with lucky properties — they were thought to have the power of protection, even the power to break evil spells. Those who believed in their luck would cut sprigs to hang over home and barn doors to protect humans and cattle alike.

In North American folklore, Dutchman’s Breeches blossoms symbolise lucky in love.  During the Victorian era, wearing one in a lapel whilst courting proved a man’s love for the lady.  Grooms would often pick posies of these pretty, white, blooms for their brides to carry down the aisle on their wedding days.  Lucky the young woman who had such a thoughtful man.  

Fanciful name “Purple Archangel” because, in European folklore, Purple Dead-nettle blossoms symbolise both good luck and protection.  These flowers were used in spells to bring good luck and success and spells to protect against evil. 

Thanks to our amazing Terri for thinking up this weekly prompt for us.  Please take a minute to visit her blog, read her interesting narrative, and see the stunning images she so luckily nabbed:

The Flower Hour #26: Lucky Flower Shots

’Til next time, y’all…

^†Tennessee Williams, spoken by Stanley — Page 94, Scene 11, in his seminal drama “A Streetcar Named Desire”.  I’ve a confession to make — when we read this play in Grade 12 English class, I hated it.  Hated it!  But then, a couple of decades later, I saw the movie version, starring Vivian Leigh and Marlon Brando and I fell in love with it.  I’ve since read the play several times, and now cannot understand why I abhorred it so much in high school.