Are daffodils doomed?

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Sunday, April 18, 2004 | Doug Oster

[Willie Green]

Fate of annual display uncertain if land is developed

When is spring officially here? Is it when the first robin hops across the lawn hunting for worms, or is it the day when there's just something different in the air -- a sweet, fresh scent that calls like a siren to young and old alike, singing, "Let's play hookey"?

Along a stretch of Warrendale Bayne Road in Marshall, it comes when the daffodils bloom in big letters that say, "Welcome spring." Next to that, 6,000 more daffodils form a cross 35 feet wide and 55 feet long. The flowers paint the hillside with yellow and white blossoms, bringing a smile to countless drivers headed for Interstate 79.

People may have to look for a new sign of the season, though -- Heartland Homes has an option to buy the land, and no one knows whether the daffodil bulbs will remain.

The flowers were the work of the late John Frey, who was born on a farm that at one time covered most of the surrounding area. Over the years, parcels were sold off, and crop land was replaced by homes. But Frey stayed.

[Willie Green]

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

[Willie Green]

ping

[jocon307]

I Wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth
(with a tip o' the hat to Google, of course!)

[theFIRMbss]

> Where have all the flowers gone?/Girls have picked them every one/When will they ever learn?

Yep. Girls will do it
everytime. Good things pop up,
they lay 'em to waste . . .

[DefCon]

W-a-a-a-a-a-h, Mommy, Mommy.
That mean old man wants to do something with his property that I don't like!
Stop him, Mommy, stop him!

[xsmommy]

isn't that a dang COMMIE peter paul and Mary song???

[beckett]

I keep hearing about this strange beast called "international law." Where is this "law" codified? And who elected the legislators who drafted these "laws?

[beckett]

Oops...I meant to post #6 on another thread. Sorry.

[martin_fierro]

For a county teetering on bankruptcy, Allegheny County oughta be relieved that someone's still willing to build there.

Homeowners pay taxes. Daffodils don't.

[aomagrat]

Isn't that the song that Bart Simpson played on his TV show about a crazy old man feeding ducks that weren't there?

[martin_fierro]

Oh, William. You're just so damn sensitive.

Ya Jagoff.

<|:)~

[Eala]

"Are daffodils doomed?"

They're all going to DIE!!!!

[jammer]

IIRC, it is a Communist Pete Seeger song that PPM covered.

[hripka]

Aren't treaties part of international law?

Isn't whatever the UN dreams up international law? Aren't the 17 resolutions that Iraq didn't follow international law?

[THX 1138]

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Of course...

[beckett]

Like I said that post was meant for another thread. As for whether treaties are international law adhering all the authority to themselves in respect to nations that, say, a DUI law in Florida has in respect to an individual American citizen, I would refer you to the number of times treaties have been broken, then ask you to count the number of times an individual Floridian has broken out of jail on a DUI charge. Then calculate which number is higher. If more Floridians have beaten a DUI than nations have broken treaties, I will agree with you that treaties are indeed enforceable "international law."

[Willie Green]

Peter, Paul and Mary did a popular version of it.
It was written by Pete Seeger and was also performed by The Kingston Trio.
Yes, Seeger was rather infamous for his left-wing politics.
So what? I don't let partisan politics interfere with my appreciation of artistic talent.
For instance, while I never agreed with Jane Fonda's politics, either,
it never clouded my judgement regarding her physical attractiveness.
It's a matter of compartmentalizing judgement and giving credit where credit is due.

[xsmommy]

unfortunately, once i know someone's leftwing politics it clouds my view of them from thereon. that is why i don't watch many movies or much tv.

[N. Theknow]

Where are People For The Ethical Treatment of Daffodils?

[Willie Green]

Oh, sometimes I do that also,
but it's usually whenever the so-called "celebrity" is obviously mediocre in talent.