Spring is here finally (knocks on wood to not jinx it) and greenery is springing up everywhere. I really can”t recall what time of year wild Irises grew or bloomed, but am reminded of them now as the weather gets warmer. I kind of think it was closer to the end of the school year, but I may be wrong.
A couple spots on the old school garden in Apsey Brook, and more around Mac Bailey’s and Randall’s garden in Snook’s Harbour had some huge wild Iris plants. Back then, the somewhat impressive blue flowers really didn’t faze us much. What was neat was taking the flat blades and holding them between your thumbs just so, and blowing through, making it a reed in our own human wind instrument.
What was maybe less neat, and somewhat painful, but hours of fun were the thick green (well till they dried out) seed pods (buds) that formed underneath the flowers. We’d gather up tons of these in our hands, pockets, what ever containers we could find, and chase each other throwing them at each other as hard as we could. Those things stung like mad, but we’d throw them at each other till we either ran out, or were too exhausted to keep it up any longer.
Always curious, we’d also peel them open, and spread the seeds everywhere, throw them in the harbour, carve them out into little boats. A somewhat wistful memory of the hours of amusement something so simple can give you.
Raised in outport Newfoundland in a town of 65 people, I pursued a post secondary diploma in Information Technology right out of High School.
I’ve always been a geek at heart, but yet I love the rural life I grew up with. Fishing, hunting, camping and the great outdoors are still loves of mine, even if I don’t pursue them as often as I once did. Sports were always a big part of our lives, and I played many (badly) and loved them all.
We went one step further than throwing them at each other. We would get a small alder about 2 feet long, poke the stick through the bud and flick them at each other. That way they went faster, harder and hurt more. Ahhhhhh good times.