One Supposes Roses... — Marilyn Lamoreux Photography

Yesterday morning I spent an hour wandering around the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum with my camera. The skies were cloudy so the light was perfect for photographing flowers. Luckily the rain held off until later in the day and though we didn’t get a lot of rain, these days I’m grateful for every little bit of rain that we get. The temperatures have been cooler this week and I’ve been enjoying the respite from the heat and the opportunity to have some open window days at home.

The summer flowers are in glorious bloom all around the arb. Lilies galore! And queen anne’s lace, purple conflowers, cardinal flowers. And let’s not forget the roses…ah roses.

One Supposes Roses

will be in bloom this time of year.

The roses in the rose garden were not as big and profuse as in past years. I’m guessing that the heat of this summer is a little hard on them. Still their beautiful blossoms and scents inspired me.

The Gardener

Have I lived enough?
Have I loved enough?
Have I considered Right Action enough, have I
come to any conclusions?
Have I experienced happiness with sufficient gratitude?
Have I endured loneliness with grace?

I say this, or perhaps I’m just thinking it.
Actually, I probably think too much.

Then I step out into the garden,
where the gardener, who is said to be a simple man,
is tending his children, the roses.

— Mary Oliver

I slowed down as I wandered through the rose garden, pausing to bend and smell each rose. So many beautiful scents!

Can’t forget the lilies

The variety and profusion of lilies astonished me. So many colors!

I’ve never been a big fan of lilies but yesterday I changed my mind about them a bit. They are such carefree bold flowers and come in so many different colors.

On Traveling to Beautiful Places

Every day I’m still looking for God
and I’m still finding him everywhere,
in the dust, in the flowerbeds.
Certainly in the oceans,
In the islands that lay in the distance
Continents of ice, countries of sand
Each with its own set of creatures
And God, by whatever name.
How perfect to be aboard a ship with
Maybe a hundred years still in my pocket.
But it’s late, for all of us,
And in truth the only ship there is
Is the ship we are all on
Burning the world as we go.

— Mary Oliver

The Arboretum’s summer flower display in the main gardens is bright, bold, and captivating this year with lots of reds and yellows. These flowers seem to be thriving in the summer heat. And somehow their bright bold colors seem appropriate for the kind of summer we are having.

If I were

There are lots of ways to dance and
to spin, sometimes it just starts my
feet first then my entire body. I am
spinning no one can see it but it is
happening. I am so glad to be alive,
I am so glad to be loving and loved.
Even if I were close to the finish,
even if I were at my final breath, I
would be here to take a stand, bereft
of such astonishments, but for them.

If I were a Sufi for sure I would be
one of the spinning kind.

—Mary Oliver