PRAIRIE SYMPHONY
As the spring winds began their rolling crescendo over the prairie, our family of three ushered ourselves into front row seats and became involved with the orchestral instruments of nature.
My father never missed a beat of the spring symphony. He was the first in the valley to see and hear the return of the robin or the meadowlark. Although not a classified environmentalist, he lived the term years before it became vogue. He watched and listened to the arias of the birds and the ballet of their movements. He taught himself to imitate their songs and joined in the chorus.
Behind our house was a large marsh where thousands of birds registered for overnight performances. We all spent hours watching, observing and recording the activities of ducks, swans and cranes as they played their concert under the direction of an unseen baton.
Spring never officially arrived until Dad came home from plowing with a crocus stuck in the oil stained ribbon of his ageless gray hat. It was the trumpet blast from Aida, spring had arrived!
The symphony background was a palette of blues, purples, greens and whites. It was a perfect carpet for rolling down a hill and absorbing the thrill of the movement, the feel of the cold/warm ground and the smell of dirt and crushed flowers. Every pastoral scene has a special spot where "honeydew" flowers grew. I would pick this dull flower and pull off each petal to suck the tender juice - one microscopic drop of ambrosia.
Mother added the scent of spring to the symphony ball. She searched for the long, dark, young stems of wild dock. She would then wash it well, cut it up and add a large ham bone to the cold well water. This magic spring tonic simmered throughout the day. When served, each soup dish was flowered with a sliced hard-boiled egg.
The symphony of spring on the prairie was a pizzicato movement of sights, sounds and smells. The dry, hot winds of summer classed the cymbals of the cadenza for another performance. Our private audience of three sighed the final note of satisfaction for another command performance by the prairie symphony.
Written by Marie Wehri Janecek about the arrival of spring in North Dakota.
