Obsession: Daffodils

Most people have obsessions. I am no different. I will even fess up that I have more than one obsession. The obsession 'de jour' is flowers, or more specifically, daffodils...

I adore flowers. And not those fancy lilies or roses, either. I like the simple flowers – daisies, baby's breath, grocery store bunches, wildflowers, and most especially, daffodils. When I lived in Bozeman, one of my favorite things to do in February was to go to the little Mom & Pop grocery store across the street and get little bunches of daffodils and put them on my desk. I looked forward to it in the middle of the sub-zero, frigid, LONG Montana winters, in the middle of tax season in a very busy accounting office. The flowers signified hope of spring just around the corner. The earthy smell they had, the bright shot of yellow blooms on spring green stems... What's not to adore?
Now that I'm back east, it's even more awesome that I can see tons of daffodils in yards and on the roadside and in the woods. This year was especially nice because our spring was quite moist and very mild; the daffies seemed to last two or three weeks longer than normal. The bulbs I planted around the yard even bloomed – every last one of them! I did not expect them to bloom at all this year, it was a most welcome surprise.

One day I came home from work and Mom had gotten me a few bunches of happy daffies in a vase. Jim was a sweetheart and got me a potted bunch of daffies which went to work with me and bloomed as beautiful two-layered white and yellow daffodils. Around the house I planted traditional blossoms and some antique colored blooms – they were almost a salmon color in the center and a cream on the outer petals. Jim and I were walking in the woods and were able to find many bunches left over from yesteryear and days gone by. And on a trip to WV, I was able to see oodles of daffies and just be totally giddy at seeing them.

Daffodils signify spring to me. Happiness is spring at the end of winter! My happy color, of course, is yellow.
What are your favorite flowers?