Springtime in Moldova - Primavara

fruit trees are blossoming

clear the field of weeds

everyone pitches in at the community center

Marius gathers the weeds.

the tulip path

tulip is lalea in Romanian

post tulip wrap up

the roz lalea

the galben și roșu lalea

the violeta lalea

itțs a lalea - palooza!

the liliac arbust

puișor

rața

a

Sergiu off to plant corn

two kernels in every hole

Sergiu and his father Ilie

Sergiu, Marius (nephew) and mother Iulia

horse whisperer

fishing with drag net

Springtime in Moldova.  That's "primavara" in Romanian.  We may be a few weeks ahead of you folks in the midwest back home in Wisconsin.  You're still coming out of the ice age, and we're already into lilacs.  A few weeks ago the fruit trees began to blossom.  Stand under a blossoming fruit tree and you'd swear you can hear it humming.  That's the bees already getting to work.  Springtime is "sapa" time here in Moldova.  A "sapa" is a simple hoe.  The ones here have a type of rounded blade as compared to the square edge ones I'm used to back home.  One thing you have to do in Spring is clear away all the early weeds that have sprung up where you want to plant.  That's what we are doing in the first pictures at the community center where I volunteer.  Moldovan children know how to pull weeds at the age of two as demonstrated by young Marius here.  Let's turn our eyes on the flowers.  Tulip time is almost past now but you can see what a glorious path of red tulips we had at home leading from the house to the outhouse.  Definitely an upgrade to the experience.  Soon their day was over, but then some specials popped up in pink, and yellow, and purple.  Some people go all out for tulips which are called "lalea" in Romanian.  And now the lilacs are beginning to bloom.  Other things are coming to life in Spring, like the new chicks and ducks (puișor and rața).  I have enjoyed watching the baby ducks follow their mother around the farm yard on small expeditions learning how to eat bugs. Sergiu leads the way to do some serious planting this past Saturday morning.  He dug the holes and I dropped the corn seed in them.  Our whole family was involved for about four hours to plant the whole field.  The weather was pleasant, a slight breeze kept the small flies off.  We admire some of the horses grazing by the riverside on our way home.  Some boys are trying their hand at fishing in the river.  Springtime is a beautiful time just about anywhere, but especially here in Moldova.