Ryan Trares
We’re pushing our luck this spring in the Trares household — but in a good way.
On sunny days out in our yard, it’s not uncommon to find Anthony, my wife and myself with our heads down, staring at the grass. Among the bloom of dandelions and the increasingly long grass, our focus is on the clover proliferating in bunches.
You see, our yard has become a particularly fertile ground for lucky four-leafers.
I had never been very good at finding four-leaf clovers when I was a kid. My patience for poking around the ground the was limited, and I never seemed to be able to spot them.
But my mom had an eye for them. She’d spot them when we were playing in the park, running around our backyard, or anywhere else where clover grew. It was an exciting day when she’d pluck one from the ground, and if it was in good enough condition, she would press them between pieces of wax paper to preserve the plants.
She must have passed that on to Anthony, because he’s become an eagle-eyed observer of the four-leafed shamrocks.
He, along with my wife, have found what seems to be a patch of the clovers growing in our yard. I realize that for some people, a yard full of clover is a nuisance — a problem to be dealt with, as to not spoil a lush green lawn.
My approach is more naturalistic. I don’t mind the backyard being a mish-mash of different plants, particularly clover, which is beset every spring and summer by honeybees. I’ve read about the importance of having pollinator-friendly plants in the yard, and if it makes my gardens and others around it healthier, I’m all for it.
Which is great news for the four-leaf clover hunters in the family. While sitting in the backyard, they’ve discovered whole patches of the plants, claiming so many that we have a pile of them on our patio table.
On warm spring evenings, it’s not uncommon for my wife and Anthony to plunk down in the grass and just search. Not only is it fun, but it’s a stress reliever, a moment of quiet while enjoying the outdoors.
Each year, I wonder if the clover will come back. One year, through a quirk of growing, we found nearly no four-leaf clovers all year long.
So when the weather starts to warm up and the grass starts growing again, I worry that we’ll have a lax patch of clover.
I should have known better. On one of the first nice nights of the year, Anthony was crawling around in the grass when he shouted, “Got one!” He ran up to me holding a small, delicate little plant. Sure enough, it had four leaves.
Hopefully, that boosts our luck all summer long.
Ryan Trares is a senior reporter and columnist for the Daily Journal in Franklin. Send comments to [email protected].
