Crocus Crazy!

By Andrea Winkjer Collin, Editor, North Dakota Horizons

 

Perhaps you have noticed that we have been a little crocus crazy lately.  Both the cover the the spring issue of North Dakota Horizons and the April photo in our North Dakota Horizons calendar feature this beautiful "Herald of Spring." And, in my spring column I write about my family's tradition of searching for crocuses.

 

Perhaps it's because this winter has been so long that our thoughts have focused so much on ANY sign of spring.  The crocus is certainly one of them!

 

But we are not alone in our yearning for spring weather. One of our subscribers from Norway wrote to share with us the same sentiments.  Arne Randen, of Lørenskog, a neighboring village to Oslo, wrote:

 

"The frontpage of your newest issue took me back to our first visit in North Dakota (1981), recalling my excitement over discovering a beautiful flower that's a true replica of our "prairie crocus," the mogop. Well, I can't say for sure that it's exactly the same species but the relationship is obvious. See photo attached.

 

"The mogop, or geitfivel as it's often called locally, is also our first herald of spring. It takes only a small barren patch among the snowdrifts before its sprouting. It's found mainly in our highlands, often at 3,000 to 4,000 feet.

 

"Makes me wonder if it has existed on our two continents all the way since these continents were one - or if it has been brought over in one way or the other later on.

 

"Thanks for a beautiful and interesting magazine, providing kind of a link to our relatives in the Minot area."

 

Arne says his relatives in Minot are Beverly and Allen Haykel. "We mostly visited was the St. Aubin farm Northwest of the town, west of Carpio. The elderly St. Aubins are long since gone but we stay in close

contact with their daughter Mary Lou in Kalispell, Montana, and son Robert in Canyon, British Columbia. Mary Lou is back on the farm for several months each summer, where we visited last time in 2007."

 
He also gives a few links to areas where the crocus can be found in Norway. 

http://home.online.no/~aranden/hyttetomt_eng.html

http://home.online.no/~aranden/webcam.html

 

The photo above from Arne looks an awful lot like our prairie crocus. It's great to know that other people get as excited about seeing this hardy, yet delicate flower every spring!

 

Thanks, for writing, Arne, and best wishes to you for an enjoyable spring that is ushered in by this delightful flower!