My peonies burst into bloom yesterday. And I am taking my time photographing them, enjoying their lush beauty, and noticing a waft of their sweet scent in our dining room as I walk by. I love…
Peony Season
Growing up on our Iowa farm my mom grew several peony plants along with a large bed of iris. She always hoped that they would be in bloom for memorial day so that she could take bouquets of them to place on the graves of family members. I remember going to visit the cemeteries where my grandfather and great-grandparents were buried each year. In some ways I miss that simple ritual of respect. Perhaps next year I’ll plan a trip to Iowa over Memorial Day weekend and once again place flowers on the graves of loved ones.
Here in Minnesota the peonies are almost never in bloom by Memorial Day but they usually burst forth in early June. When Jon and I were married on Memorial Day weekend 43 years ago in central Iowa, my mom brought a bouquet of her homegrown irises to place on the table at our wedding reception. Since Jon and I had planned a somewhat counter-culture wedding (no formal wedding dress, no tuxes, very small wedding) the homegrown flowers fit right in.
With the heat this week I am watering my black raspberries and blueberry bushes and watching their berries grow. I placed a small piece of netting over the cherries on my cherry tree to protect them from the birds. By the end of the month I expect to be picking all of them. Mmmm, good eating ahead!
Butterfly Musings
This morning on my walk I found a dead butterfly on the path. I wrapped it in a tissue from my pocket and brought it home to identify and photograph.
After much searching I discovered that it is a red-spotted purple butterfly, a kind of admiral butterfly that mimics the coloring of bad-tasting Pipevine Swallowtail. It took some time to figure out what it was. I find it fascinating to learn about butterfly species that mimic other butterflies in their coloring. How do they do that? The intelligence and utter creativity of life astonishes me again and again.
Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.―
Look around your world. What astonishes or fascinates you? It turns out that experiencing a sense of wonder is a great path towards joy and gratitude.
May you walk in beauty.
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