Whistle a Happy Tune

Cheered by Bowers of Nasturtiums

When was the last time you rode through fields of flowers in a bright blue wagon, tugged along by an antique tractor? Never? Neither had I until last week.

The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch only opens to the public for a short while, a spring delight, this season from March 1 to May 10, Mother's Day.

My apartment complex had scheduled an outing, and I'd hesitated to sign up. I had errands to run, books to read, stories to write. Could I spare an entire day for the trip? I decided I'd better. I'd been having a sad few days because of a post office mishap, a lost birthday gift, so welcomed a chance to brighten my vista. The online post office tracking notice showed the time and date of the alleged delivery. But my friend, the birthday girl, who had been home at the time, claimed no such delivery had been made. She searched her front porch and even asked a neighbor. No, the package simply wasn't there.

Oh, am I glad I went to The Flower Fields. Nothing can turn gloom into gaiety as thoroughly as the sight of fifty acres of giant tecolote ranunculous blooms cascading down a hillside, with the Pacific Ocean shimmering to the west. What's more, the tractor wagons bear names...and the one my apartment complex residents rode on was, aptly, Whistle a Happy Tune. Though I don't recall any whistling, certainly I heard choruses of ooha and aahs as we drove past such attractions as a cymbidium orchid greenhouse and a sweet pea maze, and gaped at an American flag made entirely of flowers.

After the ride, and before a picnic lunch, I sat for half an hour in The Artists' Garden, watching the caged birds and soaking up the color. I realized that I'd been wasting energy worrying about replacing a gift that had gone astray. Instead, I could bask in the beauty of a Southern California spring day. We all shine on.

A couple of days later I learned that my AWOL package mysteriously reappeared, discovered in its intended recipient's mailbox, thanks to a random act of kindness by an unknown person. Now that's a story in itself. I plan to call it "Whistle a Happy Tune."

http://www.theflowerfields.com/