Discovering Beauty in Everyday Life

This very tulip was nothing but dream last fall, as are they all, but this one was a yellow dream!  And here it is, red with purple center and a leafy red fringe.    I believe it must be a little changeling, or it has mutated over the winter.  I feel certain we planted a yellow one, bought and paid for.   Surprise!

I'm dumbstruck with today. All of a sudden, there are transparent tulips all over the place! Here, in one spot, are practically thirty, each and every one is showered with colors. How many are there? (You may extrapolate to the hidden parts of the tree bed.) This is not a test; this is an intention to perceive.

I remember winter.  Those  bleak-lit days. Day after day; day in day out; crawling along their tedious way.   Snow flakes as big as pillows, ice like cedar. Green needles and melting water slipping through the spaces. Oh yes, and icey stars so clear you want to count them. Have you ever seen too much beauty? To many shimmers tugging, clutching on your soul? Uncut streams of life swirling and spinning? a tiny newborn mite nibbling on a newborn leaf? I found a four-leaf clover pressed and living  in a book  for almost 40 years.

Yellow cups with yellow frills, A city graced with daffodils. Sunny yellow springtime frocks, Pirouette on slender stalks, While graceful leaves caress the air Knowing not a single care, Nor worried over any thing. They live again; it's finally Spring!                            by  Vera of Colorado

Squiva was off on another job and unavailable for a pose, so I asked my friend Robino to fill in.  He was excited to do it, but apparently a stone wall just isn't Robin-roosting material.  He kept asking for a worm, which of course I did not have.   He loved this photo anyway, because his feathers are lying just so, and he has a certain lightness.

Ok, now inhale  [.............]  Ahhh.  Slowly, slowly  [.............]   Ahhhh. One more time  [.............]   Ahhhhh.  Cool, dry and sun-lit spring.

I know for a fact that these tulips are six years old, and why not?  Last fall the park people covered them nicely with sod and placed them under a net, a happy accident.  Even with full bulb disclosure, there is no way they could have known.  And anyway, a net can't catch a yellow tulip. 

Can you believe it?  Those bumps were blossom cauldrons, brewing beauty in the snows of winter.  The small sign, not seen in early  shots, has added information:  Do not fear; there is no such thing as an Ordinary Winter Tree.  

Select the best answer: The puddles are dappling the petals The dapples are puddled with Petals The petals are dappling the dappled puddles. There are no puddles to dapple with petals Tune in tomorrow.....

Today we share another very rare photo, this one taken  with a telescopic lens.  These individuals,  some disguised as children, are Seekers.  They are attempting to break the well-known but little-understood Flower Code.   In gardens, pathways and parks all across the globe, people are using this code to disguise the true purpose of the plantings, which is the key to spiritual wealth and an infusion of unusual vigor.  

Update Squiva Shoot:  Squiva had to leave the tree in order to go home, and I refused to carry her/him!  I snapped this photo, but of course I couldn't use it.  After all, Squiva is a union squirrel, and I agreed to certain regulations required by the National Union of The Squirrel.  Well, after a period of consideration to allow Squiva to calm down, I showed him or her the photo.   Squiva thought and thought, and looked at the tail.   At last, we made the deal

Can you believe the perfect drape of petals?  The overlapping translucence from the sun?  The tallness?  The pinkness?  The gracious turning of the head?  It's beyond imagination.  

I thought they might not come this year.  I'd seen the leaves, but not a single bud.  I walked today up to an old haunt; it was the first time in many days, and here it is.  It's six years old!  Thank you, universe, for making yellow.

 have been told more than once that if I want to take photos of squirrels, I need to hire a union squirrel Finally, I found the listing for the local National Union of The Squirrel.  The price was very reasonable, and my squirrel did show up on time.  He or she called his or herself Squiva, and insisted on sitting in this particular tree;  Squiva would not budge over to the daffodils.  I feel certain Squiva was concerned for his or her tail.  I do have to say that when I agreed to cooperate, the shoot worked fairly well.  At least Squiva is smiling!

These buds are on fire with life and possibilities. I feel that way, don't you? Remember?

Don't sit under the magnolia tree, with anyone else but me!

Can you resist a dappled path?  I know I can't.  Just to imagine the coolness of the path, with the warm sunny  places. The spring smell in the air, and a petal floating away from an old cherry tree. 

The difficulty of knowing whether or not the blossom in front of you is an old friend or a new acquaintance is a typical problem for the urban planter. For example, walking in the park one day, I came upon a nicely dressed young woman crouched under a bush. Naturally I asked her what she was doing under a bush. She replied that she was looking for her daffodil. "Uhm," I said. "I know it's here, but now I am confused," she said. "I have to locate it, because it needs to be appreciated.  After all, it has been growing for almost 6 months, most of the time underground". The reason for this confusing situation is that these far flung flowers seem to move about from season to season. To complicate matters, it is not easy to remember exactly where one put it to begin with. "Oh, here it is! This is the one, I'm sure of it," she said. I asked her how she knew, and she smiled. Prettiest, most Promising  Potential daffodil.

It was a beauty of a day, and  while walking along the street it occured to me that a banana might be nice, and perhaps some blueberries.  So, I stopped by the Fruit Man down the street  There was a little money left after my purchase, and he advised me to take some strawberries. "Very Sweet!" he said.  I declined, saying I really didn't like strawberries. "I just want my change."  "I'll give you your change, but you need some oranges."  "No," I said.  "Yes!" he said, "Maybe some Grapes!"  I'm edging away now.  "No!  Thank you!"   "Please, he said, "they are very sweet.  It's not about the money, it's about the fruit."  Cornered by this explanatory kindness, the goddess of courtesy came rescuing by.  I summoned up a simple thank you, and let me tell you, they were the  best of grapes!

Sometimes it's necessary to plant a plant, rather than to grow a plant from a seed, and pansies are just the right sort for full flower planting.  These hopelessly happy pansies have captivated a passer-by, who has immediately claimed sidewalk rights to the beauty of April.