Very lucky

I have a knack for finding four-leaf clovers. I’m not sure exactly why, but I suspect that my figure-ground perception is especially acute. I found one on my daily walk Monday, and gave it to my friend Nancy G. Cook, for her 70th birthday. I hope it brings her another decade of good luck. Today I found another, the one pictured above!

According to information I found online, scientists estimate that there are about 10,000 three-leaf clovers for every four-leaf clover. The four-leaf clover has long been a symbol of good luck, its petals said to represent faith, hope, love and luck.

When I was a child, my mother used to sing me a song about four-leaf clovers that had a lovely melody. I found it online, attributed to Ella Higginson, born 1861, (published in An American Anthology, 1787-1900):

I know a place where the sun is like gold,
and the cherries bloom forth in the snow
and down underneath is the lovliest nook,
where the four-leaf clovers grow.

One leaf is for faith, and one is for hope.
And one is for love, you know,
And God put another one in for luck,
if you search you will find where they grow.

But you must have faith, you must have hope
You must love and be strong, and so…
If you work and you wait, you will find the place
where the four-leaf clovers grow.

Today I celebrate my Celtic ancestry; I have a good amount of Scot-Irish in my bloodlines. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone. Three cheers for the lovely Emerald Isle!