Is there anything in the world more effortlessly beautiful than a flower (in this case a cabbage)? We can’t stop marveling at their generous beauty.
This ornamental cabbage was exquisite in the morning sun.
I am not a “nature person”; I need the big cities’ concrete to be happy but it is often the quiet elegance of trees and flowers that reconciles me to the countryside.
These gorgeous carps – Koi Fish – were the best companion for the flora of this morning stroll. They are symbols of love and friendship.
I have decided to go easy on this post – no links, no major earth-shattering opinions, nothing but beautiful images and maybe this poem by e.e.cummings:
“i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)”
Beautiful Photographs & Post ..
“My soul is alight…”
My soul is alight with your infinitude of stars.
Your world has broken upon me like a flood.
The flowers of your garden blossom in my body.
The joy of life that is everywhere burns like an incense in my heart.
And the breath of all things plays on my life as on a pipe of reeds.
-Rabindranath Tagore –
These are gorgeous images Michele. You should create a calendar out of them.
Perfect for me Michele.. lately i’m the perfect lazy lady 🙂 preparing an exhibition
The photos are so dreamy that anyone can dream and feel lazy…….. hehe..
Judging by your images and words, you must truly live in a paradise on earth…
These are magnificent pictures indeed. You are obviously a woman of good taste, keen eyes for beauty, with a great camera.
A short comment for Benoit; you obviously have not been on the 405 freeway in L.A. during rush hour, which is almost always!
You start dying slowly
if you do not travel,
if you do not read,
If you do not listen to the sounds of life,
If you do not appreciate yourself.
You start dying slowly
When you kill your self-esteem;
When you do not let others help you.
You start dying slowly
If you become a slave of your habits,
Walking everyday on the same paths…
If you do not change your routin,
If you do not wear different colours
Or you do not speak to those you don’t know.
You start dying slowly
If you avoid to feel passion
And their turbulent emotions;
Those which make your eyes glisten
And your heart beat fast.
You start dying slowly
If you do not change your life when you are not satisfied with your job, or with your love,
If you do not risk what is safe for the uncertain,
If you do not go after a dream,
If you do not allow yourself,
At least once in your lifetime,
To run away from sensible advice…
Pablo Neruda
Michele joonam
You enjoy big cities, but you have eyes for all the beauties in this world. what a beautiful poem from Pablo Neruda. Tks to Mehrdad
I often wonder why we are so fascinated by flowers.
Don’t get me wrong, I too like these diverse bundles of contrast and enjoy looking at the variety of color and fragrance they bring to my eyes and nose; but I also know that I’m not an insect and that I don’t drink nectar, cross pollinate, or use photosynthesis. I’m not a botanist either. So, why are flowers so exciting to me or to the rest of us? Could it be culture?
Our literature is replete with expressions of love associated with roses and we have dedicated days throughout the year when we ritually offer flowers to others to demonstrate our feelings. But is that what flowers are really for? With myriad of colors and exquisite shapes and the wafting aroma that fills the air during calm, moon filled nights, flowers seem extraordinarily romantic; but are these sensual signals really meant for us and our lover, or are they meant for someone else?
A biologist points out that the insect vision and olfactory sense is geared specifically towards these bright colors and specific chemical scents and that the flower is the sexual organ equivalent of a plant. It therefore appears that the evolutionary purpose of color, scent, and nectar in flowers is to attract insects for the specific purpose of cross pollination, not for the human need to bestow it as gift upon a loved one! Somewhere in the delicate balance of nature, this memo was lost!
Flowers evolved colors and concocted scents that attracted specific insects to them. The insect’s fine hairs trapped pollen which was used to cross pollinate another plant at a distant site. This was apparently necessary because flowers had a small problem with sexual reproduction: let’s just say that they were permanently grounded and found it awfully difficult to sneak out at night for a quick tryst with their lovers through her bedroom window!
So, if flowers developed colors, scents, and even nectar only to bribe, and attract insect carriers for their personal handicap of being nailed to the ground, why is it that you and I are so fascinated by them? Surely, like the other creatures on this earth, flowers also have found interesting ways to pass their gene on; but we don’t admire fruit seeds that spread through animal droppings, the viscous mating ritual of sharks, and definitely not the cannibalistic antics of the Black Widow spider and the Praying Mantis! But we do like flowers, and we like them exactly because of the way the put out for their mate: their specific signals to insects! It appears that we have more in common with insects than we think.
Apparently at some point in our history we found these pretty specks in the meadows a unique, romantic gift to win sexual favors of our own (a ceremony we still partake during our first dates, subsequent dates, birthdays, anniversaries, St. Valentine’s Day, and other daily rituals where we hope for sexual and non-sexual favors from others!
So, I don’t know; maybe this arrangement is all fair after all. Maybe this is our way of getting even with flowers for tricking the insects! Here’s a possible theory: maybe flowers evolved to please the insects and use them for their own sexual needs, and we too evolved to use flowers for our own sexual needs! Here’s another theory: maybe flowers represent our feelings and the only tangible way we can express them to the ones we love. Long ago, I read in a book about the discovery of an ancient tomb by anthropologists. To their amazement the bones of a 75,000 year old female (Cro-Magnon Man) were dug up relatively intact. Surrounding her motionless bones laid a bed of fossilized flower petals neatly placed in the tomb during what appeared to be a funeral ceremony. I found this level of sophistication and consciousness truly remarkable and wondered about those present at the funeral with their thoughts and feelings.
This story of our crossed evolution with flowers may be a far fetched one. But to me, the story sounds plausible and resonates with love. True or false, the reasoning is compelling enough that I recall it every spring, when the fresh airborne pollen emanates from the countless blossoms throughout the Boston’s Public Garden assaulting my nose. The pollen brings tears to my eyes and somewhere between the first and third sneeze, the pollen brutally recounts the tales of our lost ancestors, a tale that starts with the birds and the bees and ends with why flowers play such romantic role in our evolutionary past, our struggle to survive, and our triumph of feelings.
Happy Spring Everyone!
🙂