The Flowers That Bloom in the Snow . . .

I took the following photos when I went to Cascade, AGES AGO, over Mother's Day weekend.  It has taken me FOREVER to get them posted but I FINALLY managed to get them edited and organized!  Enjoy!

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The snow was just receding in Cascade and the early spring wildflowers were beginning to pop up EVERYWHERE!  The first night I was there Dad told me about some little purple flowers he had spotted growing out by his old farm equipment in the front pasture.  After dinner, we braved the cool evening air so I could chase his pretty little wildflowers!  I was thrilled the delicate little flowers were pushing up among the rusted metal of the old equipment.  What an awesome contrast!  I also particularly enjoyed taking pictures of flowers growing on property owned by my parents.  Somehow it made these more than just ordinary wildflowers--they were OUR flowers! :)

     

     

     

     

     

  

Although Laura, Danny, Dad and Claire walked out into the field with me, I do believe Claire enjoyed my photo session the most!  When Laura and Danny froze out and headed back to the warmth of the house, little Miss Claire refused to go with them!  She insisted on staying with me to continue her self-appointed roll as my PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT.  She was simply adorable!  While I knelt in the grass she often stood behind me, peering over my shoulder as I snapped pictures of the tiny flowers in front of me.  When I moved to a new patch, she drug my camera bag along behind her, dropping it by my side.  I cannot wait until she is old enough to pack along a camera of her own!  Oh the adventures we will have!

          

     

After spending a night with Mom and Dad, I was off to Laura and Danny's Palace for a night there.  As they live on the west side of the Lake Cascade, they still had some ugly piles of snow!  I was thrilled, though, to find great herds of Glacier Lilies growing right along the receding snowbanks.  Indeed, several nights before I had been mentioning to Laura my desire to hunt down those crazy flowers that push up right thorough the snow.  "Oh, gee, you mean those ones growing right out in my front yard?"  

YES, THOSE!

One of my very favorite quotes says,

TRUE STRENGTH LIES NOT IN THE MIGHTY OAK BUT IN THE FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE SNOW. 

I sincerely fancy myself a

FLOWER THAT BLOOMED IN THE SNOW

and I was more than excited to find these growing right out my sister's front door!

FLOWERS ARE SO COOL!

GOD, YOU GOT THEM SO RIGHT!

well of course you did!  you're God!

     

  

Of course, while I was out snooping around the Pierce property, Claire wanted to be outside with me.  This time, however, she was interested in something SO much more important than flower photography . . .

MUD PUDDLES!

     

  

     

Miss Claire,

You are my utmost favorite flower!  God got you SO right!  

Thank you for LOVING me so unbelievably much!  You know the paths to my heart, by heart and I simply cannot get enough of your sweet, innocent adoration!  Thank you for smiling when you see me and crying when you leave me!  You are my deepest source of sweetness and I am so blessed to be your one and only TeeTee!  I love you to the moon and back, my perfect little bloom, and count the days until I can pluck you up again!