Poem for Sunday and Mount Vernon Lambs

The Westmoreland Girl, Part I
By William Wordsworth

To My Grandchildren

Seek who will delight in fable
I shall tell you truth. A Lamb
Leapt from this steep bank to follow
'Cross the brook its thoughtless dam.

Far and wide on hill and valley
Rain had fallen, unceasing rain,
And the bleating mother's Young-one
Struggled with the flood in vain:

But, as chanced, a Cottage-maiden
(Ten years scarcely had she told)
Seeing, plunged into the torrent,
Clasped the Lamb and kept her hold.

Whirled adown the rocky channel,
Sinking, rising, on they go,
Peace and rest, as seems, before them
Only in the lake below.

Oh! it was a frightful current
Whose fierce wrath the Girl had braved;
Clap your hands with joy my Hearers,
Shout in triumph, both are saved;

Saved by courage that with danger
Grew, by strength the gift of love,
And belike a guardian angel
Came with succour from above.

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We had a beautiful Saturday, over 70 degrees, so I am cautiously optimistic that spring has arrived, though we are still being threatened with flurries on Tuesday. Even though it's too early for many flowers or baby animals, we decided to go to Mount Vernon, which entailed a lovely drive down the George Washington Parkway which is lined with forsythia and daffodils that are starting to emerge. Mount Vernon was very crowded with spring break school groups, so we didn't take the house tour, but there are some flowers in the formal gardens. The big pregnant pig doesn't have piglets yet, but there are many lambs in the upper field with their mothers, and the chickens and cows are out, too:













Paul's birthday is Monday, but Daniel will be back at school by then since his spring break ends Sunday. So we went to the Silver Diner, since they have lots of veggie stuff Adam and I like and also steak which Daniel likes, plus roast turkey which the birthday boy likes, and we all got dessert since his was free. Adam had plans to go out with friends in the evening and Daniel had some homework to finish, so the rest of us watched basketball -- Adam is in a pool at school so most of our rooting for teams at this point has to do with brackets, not deeply held loyalties, though I might secretly be rooting for Villanova right now against UConn for all the good it will do!