One of our rituals that Sophie and I like to do (along with a few of our cats), is to walk the grounds in the early morning. For Sophie, it's to sniff out our latest visitor, for the cats, it's a chance to hide in the prairie grass and to jump out and surprise us, and for me, it's a chance to see what flower or plant has awoken from it's deep winter sleep. The Italian Jasmine is a very special plant here on the grounds. This is an heirloom plant that can no longer be obtained by our local nursery. I found this out a few years ago when I had tried to order it. The owner of the nursery told me the best way to obtain it was to find an abandoned house or lot and dig it up. This opportunity arose for me a few years back. I spotted this growing on a stone ledge on a vacant lot in the back of an alley. I dug and dug and took this treasure home. Only a few weeks later, the lot had been bull dozed down and turned into a parking lot for a pharmacy. I felt so lucky to have saved this old plant. Even though the weather is still cold, it has woke up and said hello in it's cheery color of yellow.
