Mayflowers

I've been looking around for other Nova Scotia blogs to read and stumbled, quite by accident, upon a blog written by a lady named Kim,  who lives a few kilometers up the road from where I grew up.  Funny story, although not so funny at the time...  Hubby-to-be and I flew home to NS from Vancouver Island back in June of 1991 for our wedding.  I hadn't really shown the wedding dress to anyone.  To be honest I didn't really put a lot of time into picking one out.  I couldn't afford anything fancy and ended up buying one in the first dress shop I went into.  It was on clearance, wasn't fancy, wasn't expensive and it fit well enough and I liked it.  Done deal, home it came.   Flash forward 6 months and it's a day or two before the wedding and my mom convinces me to show her the dress and that naturally progressed to trying on the dress.  Well... it didn't fit.   I was in a bit of denial so my mom hauls in my sister for support who obviously fretted about how to tell me nicely that I looked like a stuffed sausage.   Anyway, the blogger that I stumbled upon was the lady that saved the day with the dress by agreeing to do some last minute emergency alterations. I think it was my mother's frantic phone call.  I was so embarrassed.  Anyway, I made it down the aisle with the dress zipped up so score one for the bride.   And another thank you to Kim!  By the way Kim writes a nice blog about life in rural Nova Scotia.  Stop by and say "Hi" at  http://hereandthere-kim.blogspot.ca/

In a recent entry, Kim posted pictures of some Mayflowers that she'd found.  Mayflowers are one of my favourite flowers, if not my favourite.  Lots of happy memories as kids going hunting for Mayflowers with my sister.  They usually came out in April or early May.  They grow really close to the ground, like a ground cover and sometimes you have to turn over their leaves to find them hiding underneath.  They are white or white with pink around the edges, very dainty and fragile and they have the best smell ever.  Ever.   If you leave them long enough the flowers turn into bright red berries that we called teaberries.   I have no idea if that is the proper name for them or not.  The taste always reminded me a bit of pink peppermints.   I remember a few times picking Mayflowers to send out to an Aunt that lived in Ontario.  We'd fill a box with them and mom would mail them out.  God only knows what shape those flowers were in when they arrived!

When I read about the Mayflowers in Kim's entry I decided to go looking and found a small patch of them near my house, just enough to bunch together and fit in a teacup as all the vases I had were too big.  

They found a home on my living room coffee table as you can see.   They are so tiny and delicate and just plain pretty.  I love them.   

This tiny little bunch of flowers on my coffee table fills the room with the most amazing smell.  

It's the smell of Spring in Nova Scotia to me.  I hope one day if I ever have to move away again, someone will mail me a box full of Mayflowers every year.  Even if they arrive wilted it would be worth it just to get a whiff of them...the smell of home.

 You can take the girl out of Nova Scotia but I don't think you'll ever take Nova Scotia out of this girl.