Sole Survivor

They are the stuff of legends and special interest filler news pieces. Sole survivors.   Hundreds dead, all hope lost and then there is one, who, against all odds and wills of gods, makes it through unimaginable circumstances.

I have found such a story in my garden this week. Gardeners rejoice -  a single surviving pansy was found at 10AM yesterday, the apparent sole survivor of a yearly catastrophe, commonly referred to as frost, that claims the lives of thousands of annuals .   The pansy, which is being cared for in the Hanna Plant Emergency Center appeared to be in excellent health, considering that it had successfully survived, the frost, a long, cold hard winter that had both blizzards and amazingly cold temperatures. Snowfall was recorded at up to several feet at times. Experts believe that such snowfall can insulate some hardier annuals, such as pansies, from killing cold weather and this is thought to be how the pansy survived despite being found several feet from large structures that would have protected it had it been closer.

The pansy was found growing in an abandoned flower pot in the middle of the yard. Authorities believe that the owner of the flower pot abandoned it there because she was both too lazy to clean up her garden in the fall and terribly averse to being cold.

I know we will all take a moment to smile at this little minor miracle in the aftermath of winter’s devastation and look forward to the light of a new spring ahead of us.

*While this post is tongue and cheek, there are many stories of miraculous survival and horrible destruction which happened in the recent events in Japan. If you have not already donated, I encourage you to give a little to Red Cross to help with Japan relief efforts. Any help is a great help.