4.12.2021

an unexpected flower

I went for a walk in the woods with the labs yesterday, between the rain drops. It was a gloomy wet weekend. I had not planned on getting us all wet and muddy, but realized I was antsy and needed to stretch my legs. And visit my beloved Sydney's grave.

April 11 was the one year anniversary of the day I put our house cat Sydney to sleep. He was almost 16, and it was time. I will spare you the details. I've had/have many cats and love them all, but he was truly special. A one of a kind cat. Sydney loved everyone, but he loved me the mostest. The day his heart stopped beating still haunts me, as does his last look and meow at me. No regrets, it was absolutely the right thing to do at the right time. Love is just never easy, and lingers in our minds and hearts.


I have tons of photos of Sydney, not that I need them. He is vivid in my memory. Sydney was featured in my Sunday Stills post if you want to see a few pics. He was a tree trunker in his friskier days, and got vacuumed on a regular basis. Always with his family, even towards the end when he wasn't feeling well. The most unusual thing about Sydney was his love of water. 
If you turned a faucet on, he appeared out of nowhere in a nano second. He showered twice a day his entire life, up until the day before he was laid to rest under my favorite pine tree.

I planted some daffodils near him, that were blooming at my old house. They have yet to even bud. However, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a different flower blooming right above him.

I did not plant anything directly above him. How could this happen?? 



one tiny white flower

I fought back the emotions, straightened his heart wreath made of loose pine cones before continuing on our walk. Trying to absorb finding an unexpected flower blooming, in this location, on this specific day.



 Sydney's heart

The mini daffs are planted back by the pine. They are so cute, and smell wonderful in bloom. They probably just need more time to get re-established. I am going to add a couple different daffodils I transplanted that are blooming right now in other area's of our property.

I noticed a couple more snow drops leaves next to the flowering one. They will do well there, and can spread all they want. They were never among my favorite, but they are now.

By the time I got back up to the house, I figured out how that white flower got there. You may recall last Spring I transplanted a lot of bulbs and plants from gardens beds that we removed at our old place. I had buckets of leftover dirt, and must have brought some down to cover Sydney up. Even tho I don't remember doing it. We covered his tiny kitty casket with the sandy dirt we dug out. But I vaguely remember adding some dirt on top later, when the ground kind of sunk down. Like it always does. I didn't transplant any Snow Drops intentionally anywhere, and only had them growing in one garden area at my old place. It is all together possible a few bulbs or seeds got mixed in with daffodils. The only logical explanation.

This is what google says Snow Drops symbolize:

"It has evolved to symbolize sympathy and consolation. The white of the snowdrop symbolizes innocence and purity. Because it is the first flower to bloom at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, it also symbolizes hope."


one of Sydneys last photos



5 comments:

Val Ewing said...

That is beautiful. Losing a loving pet is never easy and the heart never forgets. The snowdrop is perfect right there.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Such a nice gift of a little flower, something to make you smile. "Heart" dogs or cats are hard to forget they linger a long time in our thoughts.

Grey Horse Matters said...

Sydney sounds like a very special cat who loved you and his family very much and was loved in return. It's heartbreaking to lose them. We've all been through this with our special friends and we never forget them and they hold a special place in our hearts forever. The snowdrop is Sydney's way of saying he's still with you and misses you too.

Shirley said...

Awww that made my eyes leak. I love the symbolism of the snowdrop. So fitting.
I plant flowers on the graves of our pets. Reba has columbine and a bleeding heart. Merle will get the helleborus and probably another shade plant this spring. Pearl has a bergenia.

aurora said...

Thank you for the kind words, and more so for understanding <3

You chose beautiful remembrance flowers Shirley.