The official start to Spring in Australia, got off to a balmy start; a languid weekend of sunshine although still quite cool once the sun dipped below the horizon. Following on from the August “Blue Moon” the weekend included the low key festivities of Fathers Day on Sunday, followed by a magnificent Monday. This probably saw more “sickies” taken from work than usual, simply because it was a beautiful day. Hopefully it was an industry rostered day off!
We began the Fathers Day celebrations with the father in law on Friday, due to his other social commitments and I visted my 91 year old father on Sunday afternoon with a box of chocolates supplied by my son and his partner. He was curious as to why he was getting a present, as Father’s Day is a relatively new tradition born of commercialism and we never celebrated it when I was a child. It is quite unlike the original Mothering Sunday which was celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere Spring, by the church. He happily accepted the gift as he has a sweet tooth, so much so, that he has only one left!
My own adult children gave their father a couple of pots of tulips as he has been nurturing an aging bulb …yes …. that was singular….. for the last couple of years.
I find that tulips are intriguing flowers. Once highly valued and rare, they made their way from the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th century to Europe where they often were more valuable than gold. Now they can be found even in the flower section of the local supermarket for just a few dollars.
Selected breeding has created many different colours and shapes and they have evolved from the simple single flower on a stem to double or even frilled versions.
The scent is exquisite…. almost imperceptible unless you take the time to stop and savour it.