This one is a #tbt but it us #daffodils time again #narcisos. In Wales to see the first one blooming means wealth for the year. They are the heralds of Spring. Also a symbol of friendship in victorian times. #flowerstagram #flowers #folklore #fairiesofinstagram #fairycore #blooming #wildflowers #inthewoods #wintertospring #greendress https://www.instagram.com/p/CLz1lEyHmzN/?igshid=1xv1ibip9o7y6
It was the first weekend of spring in the wild west Highlands of Scotland, and although it could hardly be said to be warm, even in that much coveted but rarely discovered “sheltered spot out of the wind”, Algy found the sunshine quite dazzling after the endless months of darkness.
So he tucked himself down behind another patch of daffodils, together with his little dragon friend - who was glowing so brightly with the fresh colours of spring that he almost rivalled the flowers themselves - and they spent a happy day relaxing in Algy’s assistants’ garden, discussing such profound topics as the question of why not all daffodils are yellow, while Algy’s assistants indulged in the hard labour which is the duty of all gardeners at this season of the year.
As they chatted, Algy told the little green dragon that, owing to the magic that is tumblr, the image of their rainbow dance had reached many new friends, all around the world…
And so Algy sends very special fluffy hugs to all his new followers - and, of course, to all those friends who have been following his adventures for some time - and he hopes that you will all have a chance to relax in some pleasant sunshine this weekend…
Spring had arrived at last, and although the air and wind were still cold, there was a quality of warmth in the vernal sunshine which Algy had not felt for six months or more - not to mention an enormous increase in the quantity and intensity of light, which was almost too bright to contemplate after the endless months of dreary darkness under perpetual rain clouds.
Few creatures could resist the joys of such a spring day, and Algy and his little green dragon friend were no exception. When they saw a large clump of daffodils opening their petals in the sun they rushed towards them and revelled in the glory of the golden trumpets.
As Algy watched his friend inspect the unfamiliar flowers, he was delighted to observe that there were several bumblebees buzzing around them, and all the birds of the vicinity were helping to celebrate the coming of spring in their own individual voices. Some only managed a chirrup or a tweet, and some proclaimed their opinions with an incessant “widgy widgy widgy widgy widgy”, but for a moment Algy caught the beautiful sound of the first skylark of the season, singing in the heavens, and he smiled a very large fluffy bird smile.
Resting on the mossy ground under the daffodils, it was inevitable that Algy was reminded of Wordsworth’s famous verses, for, like the poet, he “could not but be gay in such a jocund company”… although, basking in the sunshine with the little green dragon beside him, Algy was neither wandering nor feeling the slightest bit lonely.
So he hopes you will forgive him if he repeats the often-quoted poem once more for the sake of his dragon friend, for he suspects that the funny wee creature may not have had the usual advantages of a literary education when young
I wander’d lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils, Beside the lake, beneath the trees Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretch’d in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: - A poet could not but be gay In such a jocund company! I gazed - and gazed - but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought.
For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills And dances with the daffodils.
[Algy is of course quoting the famous poem Daffodils by the 19th century English poet William Wordsworth.]
The next morning the friends went out into the garden together, in search of daffodils.
Most of Algy’s friends had seen these beautiful harbingers of spring many times before, but the little green dragon - who had lived a very sheltered life in the bleak and arid country of Patadragonia and then in the confines of a travelling circus - had not even heard of such flowers, let alone seen them.
The strange little creature was so excited and thrilled by the lovely yellow trumpets that he began to glow in the soft yellow and green colours of spring
p.s. Algy realises that his 10th Tumblr birthday - and his sudden reappearance on this unique occasion - will have taken most of his friends by surprise. So the celebrations of this very special birthday will continue on Algy’s sideblog @lovefromalgytoday.
All of a sudden there was a rustling and a shuffling and a whispering and a giggling, and the sensation of a wonderfully warm glow which seemed to wrap itself all around him, and Algy, who was just a tiny, wee bit awake already, sat bolt upright with a start of surprise.
“What?… Who?… When?… How?…” he exclaimed…
“Wake up, Algy!” cried his friends, “It’s your birthday! And it’s spring! It’s time to wake up again.”
The animals pressed against him and held out a pretty little bunch of spring flowers. “Happy Birthday, Algy!” they sang. “Happy Birthday!”
Algy was quite overcome. Even his special friend the little green dragon - who he had last seen flying off to join the circus in faraway Patadragonia - was there beside him, warming the assembled company with its magical glow, which was especially welcome on what seemed to be a typical early spring day in the wild west Highlands of Scotland.
“But how can this be?” spluttered Algy. “It was October… I was drifting off to sleep on a dark, damp, dreich autumn day. I couldn’t believe how many months it would be until the spring… I was almost in despair…”
“Feel behind your ear,” whispered the little green dragon.
Algy reached up and felt something strange tucked in among his fluffy feathers. It was the magical cherry blossom which he had brought back from Easter Island the year before.
“When the autumn became unbearable, the cherry blossom put you to sleep,” giggled Algy’s rat friend Twicklewick. “You have been hibernating. Huge storms raged, trees crashed down, the wind howled constantly, rain fell almost all the time, every day was dark and overcast, and you slept through it all, tucked up under the ivy - you lucky fluffy bird! And when the world turned again and it was nearly your birthday, the cherry blossom called us - even the little green dragon, who flew all the way across the ocean to be here today.”
Algy laughed a fluffy bird laugh of joy.
“I can hardly believe it,” he cried. “But it’s wonderful to see you all again. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
“Thank the magical cherry blossom,” whispered the little green dragon.
And then all Algy’s friends started singing again.
“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday you silly old fluffy bird friend, Happy Birthday to you… Algy! Hooray!”
p.s. This is Algy’s 10th Tumblr birthday - quite an occasion, even though Algy has been absent for a while. So despite the short notice, Algy will be reblogging posts by his friends on his sideblog @lovefromalgy in a party celebration of this special birthday. You are all invited
