Love, Nature, Family

Posted on by Victoria

I don’t know what it is about late summer blooms, or the sharpness in the sky – the contrast of light and dark.  It captivates my attention, especially this time of year when I know the phrase “burning daylight” is more applicable than ever.

I’ve noticed this over the past three years.  As much as I enjoy summer and our beautiful yard and garden beds, I give them only a passing glance when the days of sunshine luxuriate, one after the next.  I see you, beautiful blooms, but I pass by because I know I can return, whenever I’m inclined, to gaze upon you.  Summer is like that.  But when the light begins to change heralding the arrival of fall, I stand up and take notice.  Phone in hand, I poke around the flower beds and take shot after shot of the stalwart blooms – the ones who’ve felt a recent chill and a shudder but carry on, just the same.  My kind of flowers, I say.

Another confession? I’m embarrassed to say we have a membership to the Chicago Botanic Garden but in a year’s time, we’d only been twice.  Shameful, but I think I know why.  Just like those summer showstoppers, I figure the bountiful summer days will wait for me.  I’ll get to you…but something else (not more important, but peskier) always comes up to supplant my interest. 😉

Last week I knew I needed to act.  Hubster Paul and I made a pact to “get to the Garden” and we did!  As much as I lamented my lack of resolve to go sooner, we realized a daytrip…on a weekday…was perfection.

While we were there, I did a little time traveling as I watched Paul enjoy the scenery and wondered why the image of him walking along the bridge reminded me of something. Then I remembered. Looking at my long-legged hubby…I recalled a moment nearly thirty years ago.  The first photo is Paul and Delaney, walking hand-in-hand when she was still learning how to find her footing on her first ever garden walk.  The second?  Paul – walking across a beautiful winding bridge – solo style – when we visited the Botanic Garden this week.  Unmistakable…despite the passage of time… are those long legs of his.  I could spot him a mile away.

A little more? I can’t say for sure what I loved about the trellis garden, but I think it’s the geometry of it all and oddly, the fact that it looks so sparse. See what I mean?

Hardly anything clings and grows, as if the whole structure is ready for a good winter’s slumber.  I imagine those long timbers feeling a sense of freedom, breathing in the sunshine unencumbered by plant life.  If time permitted, I think I could’ve sat – staring at the movement of the shadows for hours.  Feeling a sense of time passing, sundial style.

The lily pond?  I mean, really?  I’ve written about my love of lilies and they captivate me.  Yep.  The pic is from Chicago…not some distant locale, exotic and mysterious.  I love lilies and I’m (again) ashamed that it took me so long to visit a favorite little pond.

The other pics I’ve included (at the beginning of this post) were inspired by our sojourn to the Botanic Garden. I walked our yard and chatted with some of those hearty blooms.  The hydrangeas look almost as gorgeous in their faded state as they did when they first popped and flowered.  The hollyhocks?  As much as I dislike their rambling, stalk-like edifice, their blooms are pretty fab.  Most of all, I spied the last hibiscus of the summer.  With a bloom as large as a dinner plate, I stood in admiration, enjoying her fragrance before I snapped a pic.  See you next year…I thought.  And then I realized.  No.  I will never see YOU again, dear flower.  But your brethren will be back, and I’ll be waiting.

But wait…don’t go! You need to read about Paul’s fascination with his latest toy/tool…a fancy weather station. Inspired by HIS love of the outdoors…waiting for you to read over on Victoria Ponders.

Vicki 😎

47 thoughts on “Love, Nature, Family”

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  4. Beautiful photos and walk in the garden. I agree the Spring and Fall tend to be when we perk up and notice the garden and the beauty around us. Let’s hope summer hangs on for as long as possible!

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  5. I love this all, Vicki! It’s so true that we tend to notice things more readily as the seasons change. One of the main benefits of living in the desert is the seasonal delay and reminders, like this, to stop and smell the flower more often. We have another 8-10 weeks before it cools down, which is the perfect time to really, *really* pay attention.

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  6. Incredible pictures, love the then and now of Paul – and that you could recognize that long-legged gait anywhere. That might be worthy of a whole other post – the familiarity of our loves!

    And I love your observation about how hard it is to enjoy blooms in summer. I do the same thing! This is so good, “I figure the bountiful summer days will wait for me. I’ll get to you…but something else (not more important, but peskier) always comes up to supplant my interest. 😉”

    So true – and so clever!! Love it!

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    1. Yah…you and I often lament about those “peskier’ things. We just need to get better at ignoring some of them – LOL! And what a thought. A whole post about ‘daddy long legs’ (Paul). Hmm….🤣🥰🤣

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  11. Good for you, getting out to the botanical garden! It’s so easy to get busy and let time slip away so you end up not doing the things that bring such happiness to your soul, isn’t it?

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  14. “See you next year…I thought.” The beauty you have offered and described is commendable, Vicki. But, I couldn’t help but think that unless those of us who admire and enjoy nature’s bounty take action, next year and the year after will be different…

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    1. What a point you make. Thank you, Dr. Stein. We assume continuing goodness and bounty but shouldn’t take any of it for granted. Appreciate your awareness-raising comment. 💕

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  15. I love this post, Vicki! You’ve perfectly captured the essence of taking things for granted. I tried to watch the fireflies in our backyard for at least a few minutes every evening while they were out, but there were a couple of times I was just too tired or lazy to do so. Now, they’ve been gone a month, and I miss them fiercely.

    (I do NOT miss getting bitten by mosquitoes while watching them fiercely, so I s’pose I shouldn’t be too hard on myself!)

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    1. Oh…I can relate. The fireflies ARE like magic, aren’t they? And then poof – they’re gone! I love all of your posts with so many beautiful photos. You make the most of your surroundings and share so generously with your readers. Thanks for all of that. And amen to your comment about NOT missing the skeeters…and for that matter, the poison ivy, right? LOL! Hope you have a great Tuesday, Mark! 🥰

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  17. We have a membership to the Cincinnati Nature Preserve and like you with the Chicago Botanic Garden I’m ashamed to admit how infrequently we use it. I do like how you’ve come to realize that while we may miss one flower in its prime it’ll beget another one eventually. This seems quietly hopeful to me.

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    1. Love you words, Ally – “quietly hopeful”. Yes! And I suspect, from the fab photos you’ve shared, your yard/garden rival the goodness of the Cincinnati Nature Preserve. I wish I was more of a focused gardener…LOL. 😎🥰😎

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