In all their golden glory, daffodils are blooming near the beach road, flowers that dare appear while winter yet lingers, yellow blooms nodding in the wind. In some gardens they are refined and cultivated with care, but the ones we see today are wildflowers, springing up unbidden from weedy brambles. Among several other poets, William Wordsworth was charmed by their splendor and wrote, “…A host of golden daffodils…beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze…”* — Diary, spring 2011 * “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

From the diary of beach walker George Thatcher, a retired banker, of Gulfport. E-mail: fishcrow@aol.com. A fourth volume of Thatcher’s work, “A Decade of Beach Walks,” is available in bookstores and gift shops or by calling 800-343-1583.