Thursday, January 8, 2009

gladiolas

Let's throw out the word gladiolas and see what it conjures up.
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6 comments:

yvonne said...

I remember them as Mom's favorite flower. She used to plant them quite close to the pasture and sometimes the cow would get her long tongue and reach under the electric fence and eat some of those gladiolas.

January 8, 2009 at 9:46 PM
Kendell said...

"Gladiolas" brings back memories of June and Betha and trips up Cemetery hill.....

January 9, 2009 at 6:02 AM
Dean Strong said...

I remember the cow eating the gladiolas and grabbing the electric fence with 1 hand and a gladiola plant with the other to give you a bigger jolt.

January 9, 2009 at 6:44 PM
Gordon said...

Year after year Mom would faithfully plant and nurture her gladiolas in the front yard where the horshoe pegs were. It was her one symbol of attempting to beautify the yard. They were generally neglected by her other crop-her children-who didn't pay them much mind. Each year she would plant them a little farther from the electric fence to prevent the inevitable invasion that would come. They would grow and eventually bloom into beautiful flowers. That was when the invasion would occur. The milk cow had also been watching the growth and development of these precious flowers. Suddenly, without warning the cow would crane her neck to reach for the prize. The shock of the fence would temporarily stop her, but only for a short time. Eventually the cow would get down on her fromt knees and shove her head under the fence until she could snake her tongue around the precious gladiolas. Sometimes Mom would catch her in the act and would rush to the aid of her precious flowers. Sometimes this would work temporarily, but in the end, the cow usually won. We boys could never understand what these gladiolas meant to our dear Mother. It was her symbol of femininity and civility in a world filled with laundry, dishes, meals, and raising a small army.

January 9, 2009 at 9:14 PM
Natalie Strong said...

That silly cow; he had plenty to eat in the pasture, but NO, he wanted gladiolas for dinner.
---Mom

January 9, 2009 at 10:51 PM
Dean Strong said...

Gladiolas were also the official sign that Spring had arrived. When Mom got the gladiola bulbs out and planted them, we knew Spring was finally here.

January 10, 2009 at 10:47 AM

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