Our Colorful Lawn

     Our lawn has gone to buttercups and clover and to dandelions and those tiny little daisies – all signs that half of our household team is down for the count right now and the lawn-mowing chores are on hold.  It reminds me of my childhood when my grandfather grew too old to tend to much more than his vegetable garden.  (I do have dim memories, though, of him cutting the grass with a scythe and of the graceful ‘dance’ he did as he worked his way across the expanse in front of the house.)
     But, foremost in my memories of this yard are the hours we played making daisy chains and picking buttercups to hold under one another’s chins.   The reflected yellow color was sure to elicit the pronouncement, “You like butter!”  No matter how often we performed this ‘true test,’ we were amazed and convinced, once again, of the magical qualities of prophecy contained in the little yellow blossoms.
     We hunted for hours among the clover looking for one with four leaves and, very occasionally, we were successful.  We knew then that our good luck would hold for the rest of the day – or at least until we found a penny to put in our shoe.  Sometimes we made dandelion chains but they were too easy – daisy chains were better.  And dandelions were best left to go to puffy seed balls that we could wish on and blow away.
     We’d look for just the right kind of grass – usually tall and easily seen – with a thick blade that we could put between our thumbs and blow to make a high, piercing whistle.  The little kids always thought we were so clever, but really it was easy.  And then there was sourgrass to chew and, if we were lucky, a nasturtium to suck the honey from or, later in the summer, their fat green seeds with their peppery taste to eat.
     I wonder if kids still while away the summer hours with such unsophisticated activities.  Or are our lawns so neatly trimmed and our gardens so carefully manicured that those simple discoveries are no longer possible?