Signs of spring, and the Q-tip test

This is a good time of the year, when spring tentatively pokes green fingers into the late-winter air.

Thanks to the few warm days of sunshine we've had, along with a batch of rain, there are signs of spring everywhere.

Two of our neighbors have these magic trees that put out yellow buds long before the forsythia blooms. The trees are bright gold against the gray of early March. My, but they are a welcome sight.

More than a week ago my wife and I spied our first row of daffodils in full bloom along the south side of a house about a block off Broadway on Penny Avenue.

Daffodils are one of my wife's favorite flowers. Both of us grew up with what our parents typically called "Easter lilies" because they flowered so close to the holiday.

In our backyard is a decent row of daffodils that spring from bulbs I dug up a few years ago at the house in the woods my mother and her siblings called "the old home place." Those daffodils were planted more than 75 years ago by my grandmother, who died before I was born. I like to think of them as a family bond. My mother, before she died last year, was so pleased the flowers were in my yard, too.

There are peony shoots peeking up in our yard. The day lilies are coming to life. Tulips are pushing up purple leaves, testing both the temperature and the slant of the sun.

The dogwoods buds are swelling. The rhododendron pods are getting ready to burst open. The roses are putting out new clusters of future limbs and blossoms. The poppy leaves are multiplying. Come on, spring. We're all more than ready for your grand entrance.

Bloom, redbuds.

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Most of you know that Miss Kitty, the cat that keeps two Sullivans at her house, is a serious-minded animal. Having come to be an adult cat by way of a streetwise existence before she found such soft-hearted humans, Miss Kitty has lived by her wits with little time for games.

Her favorite "toy," as I've mentioned before, is a clod of dirt that she pushes and chases all over the brick patio.

It's not that she hasn't had plenty of opportunities to play with toys. We've spent good money on playthings guaranteed to thrill a cat.

Not Miss Kitty.

No thank you.

Brad Hollerbach, who works here at the Southeast Missourian, and his wife, Karie, are also cat people. Brad was telling me how their cat loves to play with Q-tips. You know, the swab thingies you aren't supposed to put in your ears. But what else would you use them for?

Anyway, the Hollerbach cat thinks Q-tips are the best thing since catnip. Brad asked if Miss Kitty ever played with Q-tips. No, I said, since a Q-tip doesn't look much like a clod of dirt.

Well, the other day Brad showed up with a cat-sized bundle of Q-tips from Karie, who wanted to make sure Miss Kitty had an opportunity to enjoy the same ecstatic experience as the Hollerbach cat.

I dutifully took the Q-tips home. I showed one to Miss Kitty, who swiveled one ear back. Not a good sign.

I dropped a Q-tip in front of her. She pushed it away with her paw. I sprinkled Q-tips around her. She walked to the kitchen. She ignored the Q-tips until I picked them up and put them away.

Sorry, Hollerbachs, but Miss Kitty won't play with Q-tips. But by golly she sure has clean ears.

Go figure.

jsullivan@semissourian.com