FAREWELL AND THANKS

" Where Flowers Bloom, So Does Hope " - Lady Bird Johnson
( Dec. 22, 1913-July 11, 2007 )

Every time I see a wildflower I will think of Lady Bird Johnson, our former First Lady who passed away July 11 . She was an environmentalist before the word was even discovered. The highways and byways of Texas are filled with living tributes to her-beautiful Gallardia, Texas Bluebonnets, and thousands of varieties of wildflowers.

The bible says that " Not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of the lilies of the field. "

Farewell, Lady Bird. You've brought such beauty into our world.

LADYBIRD

Ladybird! Ladybird ! fly away home;
The field mouse is gone to her nest
The daisies have shut up their sleepy red eyes,
And the birds and the bees are at rest.

Ladybird! Ladybird !
The glowworm is lighting her lamp,
The dew's falling fast, and her fine speckled wings
Will flag with the close-clinging damp.

Ladybird! Ladybird ! fly away home;
To your house in the old hollow tree,
Where your children so dear have invited the ant
and a few cozy neighbors to tea.

Ladybird ! Ladybird ! fly away home;
The fairy bells tinkle afar;
make haste, or they'll catch you and harness you fast
With a cobweb of Oberon's car.

Ladybird ! Ladybird ! fly away home ;
Good luck if you reach it at last !
The owl's come abroad, and the bee's on the roam,
Sharp-set from their diurnal fast.

-Caroline B. Southey