Old Order Mennonite Memoirs

"Little crocus blooming there

What a precious beauty fair,

Head held high – so brave are you

Hoping spring shall soon shine through,

Treasured beauty – in the sod

Surely from the heart of God."

Starting my letter with a verse from Garnett Ann Schultz's "Little Crocus" poem seems like the right thing to do after one week of March. In it we had both calm winds and wild winds. We had both freezing temps overnight and warm weather with sunshine that drew us outside. As I stooped and stood upright over and over again, to take dead stalks and leaves from the big, round flowerbed in the barnyard, my...