Hyacinths

HAPPY 2011 CAKEs!

What a joy that we get new, fresh starts each year. I, for one, am excited to see what the next 359 days have in store. To me, a new year is like a huge pot of fertile soil awaiting seeds to be planted and nurtured.

I adore flowers, and one of my favorites (after hydrangeas and peonies) is a hyacinth. They have a rather peculiar shape, but for such a small flower, they have a powerful fragrance that can make a room such a happy place to be. Here's a picture of the hyacinth that begged me to buy it when I was supposed to be purchasing groceries...


And here's an interesting Greek myth, thanks to Wikipedia, surrounding the hyacinth (making our blog educational - it's the teacher in me :)) ---

Hyacinth as a beautiful youth loved by both the god Apollo and the West Wind, Zephyr. Apollo and Hyacinth took turns at throwing the discus. Hyacinth ran to catch it to impress Apollo, but he was struck by the discus as it fell to the ground, and died. A twist in the tale makes the wind god Zephyrus responsible for the death of Hyacinth. The youth's beauty caused a feud between Zephyrus and Apollo. Jealous that Hyacinth preferred the radiant archery god Apollo, Zephyrus blew Apollo's discus off course, so as to injure and kill Hyacinth. Apollo did not allow Hades to claim Hyacinth. Instead, Apollo made a flower, the hyacinth, from Hyacinth's spilled blood.

Praying the Lord richly blesses the seeds we plant in 2011. Let the fun begin!

Much love,
C