Cathy, Bluebells and Baggy Shorts

A couple of weeks ago Cathy at ma vie trouvee did a post about a beautiful bluebell forest near her home in Belgium. If you haven't visited her blog I recommend it. She is an American living in Belgium and she travels far and wide and blogs about the incredible foods, flea markets, sights and art she encounters. She is a talented photographer and captures really beautiful photos. In addition, she crafts lovely handmade cards and has been featured in several of the Somerset publications. I discovered her blog during the Where Bloggers Create blog party last Spring and have been following ever since. She lives around the corner from a flea market in Belgium and says crazy talk like "well, we are off to Marrakesh for the weekend". Holy Moly. When I looked closer I realized that what they call bluebells are the flowers I know as Wood Hyacinths. Knowing that, I can understand how they could carpet the floor of an entire forest! My mother's best friend, Peggy, gave me a little sack of bulbs when we moved in to this house over 30 years ago.
{Oh wait, I have to tell you a little story about Peg.} Her name was Peggy Schwartz. Pronoucing her name was an insurmountable tongue twister for the bitty neighbor boy so she was forever Baggy Shorts. I don't think she minded. I haven't thought of her in a while and it makes me smile. I wish I could think of a bigger word than "invasive". I think I have spent the last 30 years trying to herd them out of the spots where I don't want them. The meek will not inherit the Earth, the Wood Hyacinths will! I have to admit, though, that after the long, bleak Winter it is a joy to see their beautiful blue blossoms signal that Spring has returned at long last.