I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils!
-William Wordsworth, 1804
On this day in 1802, English poet Willam Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, were enjoying a walk around Glencoyne Bay in the Lake District in the north of England. As they walked, they saw a few daffodils swaying near the shoreline. The brother and sister wondered together if the flower seeds had floated ashore and sprouted. As they walked, they saw more and more of the yellow blossoms, finally culminating in a wide belt of the flowers. This moment provided the “seed” for Wordsworth, one of England’s most famous romantic poets. Indeed, “Daffodils” may be his most famous poem.