Spring Has Sprung

[jambutty]

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz,
And I know where de boidy is.
De boid is on the wing but dat’s absoid,
I always taut de wing was on de boid.
Anon

My garden, not noted for its aesthetic qualities unless tall grass is your delight, is barely 11 days into the New Year and is already showing positive and definite signs of Spring.

Last Autumn I planted 100 Snowdrops, 25 Siberian Bluebells, 20 Crocuses and a dozen Muscari. I think that the common name for them is Grape Hyacinth.

Mindful of a marauding grey squirrel that does its rounds a couple of times a day I planted the bulbs an inch or so deeper than recommended in the hope that the squirrel would not notice. I am thankful to report that the squirrel ignored my gardening efforts and left the bulbs alone. I guess that a table full of nuts next door was more to his/her liking or maybe it was my whisper in his/her earhole that if s/he has a go at my bulbs it will be magically turned into a pair of gloves. So well before Xmas the lot where poking their collective heads above the soil and are now beginning to flower. Indeed during what we have laughingly referred to as Winter, my other attempt at communion with nature, the planting of Primula Primroses, flowered continually until a few days ago but the plants are healthy and are no doubt preparing for a brilliant Spring display. Primula? That’s what it states on the tag. That’s a soft cheese spread, isn’t it? I look forward to the growth of at least one box of soft cheese spread per plant - in late Spring perhaps.

[mrskitty]

Originally Posted by jambutty

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz,
And I know where de boidy is.
De boid is on the wing but dat’s absoid,
I always taut de wing was on de boid.
Anon

I dont know what made me think it, but i always thought Benjamin Zephaniah wrote that poem

[West Ender]

Originally Posted by misskitty

I dont know what made me think it, but i always thought Benjamin Zephaniah wrote that poem

He wasn't born when I first heard it.

[jambutty]

Anyone know where I can get some Triffid seeds?

[WillowTheWhisp]

I thought it was:

The spring has sprung,
The grass has ris.
I wonder where the flowers is?
The bird is on the wing.
Now isn't that absurd?
I always thought the wing was on the bird!

[West Ender]

De Spring is sprung, de grass is riz
I wonder where de boidies is.
De boidies, dey is on de wing.
But dat's absoid, from what I hoid,
De wing is always on de boid.

Bugs Bunny circa 1948.


Triffid seeds, Jambutty? Try a pumpkin. I was sure mine was going to invade the house last Summer.

[jambutty]

That’s the posh English version WillowTheWhisp.

What I quoted is the Bronx version although I’m not quite sure where “I wonder where the flowers is?”comes from. It doesn’t appear to be in the original version.

The Answer Bank at http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Arts-and-Literature/Question57268.html seems to suggest that the poem is anonymous and is now regarded as a traditional American poem.

Pumpkin eh West Ender? Nah! It hasn’t got a stinger and just sits around growing fat. Maybe it should become the CEO of BT or some other large corporation?

[Billcat]

Lyrics from Tom Lehrer's "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" (note the highlighted reference to squirrels):

"Spring is here, a-suh-puh-ring is here.
Life is skittles and life is beer.
I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring.
I do, don't you? 'Course you do.
But there's one thing that makes spring complete for me,
And makes ev'ry Sunday a treat for me.

All the world seems in tune
On a spring afternoon,
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park.
Ev'ry Sunday you'll see
My sweetheart and me,
As we poison the pigeons in the park.

When they see us coming, the birdies all try an' hide,
But they still go for peanuts when coated with cyanide.
The sun's shining bright,
Ev'rything seems all right,
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park.

Lalaalaalalaladoodiedieedoodoodoo

We've gained notoriety,
And caused much anxiety
In the Audubon Society
With our games.
They call it impiety,
And lack of propriety,
And quite a variety
Of unpleasant names.
But it's not against any religion
To want to dispose of a pigeon.

So if Sunday you're free,
Why don't you come with me,
And we'll poison the pigeons in the park.
And maybe we'll do
In a squirrel or two,
While we're poisoning pigeons in the park.

We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment.
Except for the few we take home to experiment.
My pulse will be quickenin'
With each drop of strychnine
We feed to a pigeon.
It just takes a smidgin!
To poison a pigeon in the park"

Very sick, but funny as well! Enjoy!

[West Ender]

Honestly, Jambutty, before the pumpkin got any fruit it was creeping along at around 2 feet a day. It was heading for the French windows and it had a sort of purpose about it. I had to do the Robert Winstone thing and fertilise its female flower to stop it in its tracks. Once it was pregnant it forgot about advancing on us and pretended it was just a good mother looking for a comfortable nursery to bring up its baby. Hhhmmmmmm!

[maxwell silver]

Originally Posted by misskitty

I dont know what made me think it, but i always thought Benjamin Zephaniah wrote that poem

Must have been the line with grass & riz(la) in it

[mrskitty]

lol maxwell-probably,his a great poet though......*wanders round the house looking for book of poetry by Zeph*

[Lolly]

Why get up?? Look online. lol.

[mrskitty]

Me is a fan of books too

[chav1]

Originally Posted by jambutty

Anyone know where I can get some Triffid seeds?

is this wot your looking for

[jambutty]

Yeh! Yeh! Yeh! chav1. That’s it.

Just the job for deterring cats and other sundry beings invading my wilderness garden.

Pity that they are not real.