Flowers for Ferdinand

I visited the Arboretum briefly on this day to check the status of two things I was concerned about after Monday night's heavy storms. The red elm is still fully intact (yes, I do worry about it sometimes), which is good news.

But the storms were pretty hard on the lovely tulip display. There are areas where the colors are still quite good, but petal fall has begun. In some parts of the main display, the blooms are already gone.

I returned to Childhood's Gate to visit Ferdinand the peaceful bull. I have shared pictures of him here twice and told his story: 1) The Pacifist, and 2) Visiting with Ferdinand. Technically the gardens have not named him Ferdinand; I did that myself.

He is officially a sculpture of an American bison. But in my imagination, he is the star of a favorite childhood book, come to life and given physical form in one of the most delightful gardens I know. In the children's book, Ferdinand is a bull who WILL NOT FIGHT, but will only sit and smell the flowers.

It amused me to make this picture of Ferdinand with his beloved flowers. The tulips suit him well, I think. So colorful and pretty, with all the colors of a candy store. Behind him is a little creek of running water where children play; beyond that, the cave.

In my imagination, at nights when noone is around, Ferdinand awakens, stands up and stretches, has a little drink of cool water at the creek, gallops around through the open area sniffing all the flowers, and spends a little time hiding out in the cave. Quite a life he has, Ferdinand the bull!

The soundtrack is a song I love, and this might be its best performance. The brief intro explains that they only decided to perform it the night before, and rehearsed it over the phone. When they walked on stage, the crowd went wild! Here is the 1980 Grammy performance of Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand, with You Don't Bring Me Flowers.