I’ve completed the first leg of my cross-country trip and I am safely arrived in Columbia, Missouri.  This morning I awoke in Oak Grove, KY, just outside of Ft. Campbell. During the night a storm had passed through and everything was wet and gray. Fortunately the storm was moving east and I was headed west.  The gray skies disappeared after about an hour of driving and the rest of the day was splendid. The spring colors are everywhere, an endless paraded of pinks, mauves, and whites with backgrounds of soft green or coral colored buds.

Yellow mustard plants are everywhere but nowhere as exquisite as this field that I passed not long after entering Interstate 24West.  Farmers plant mustard for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is harvested, other times it is plowed back into the earth, a sort of green manure.  I do not know the intent of this farmer but I am grateful to have seen his crop in full bloom. It reminded me of another spring, 24 years ago, when Robert and I were in Italy. We traveled from Rome to Florence by train and along the way there was acre after acre of mustard plant in full bloom, painting the hills in broad swarths of happy yellow.  All the world celebrates spring. ❧