Allium and Friends

The Arboretum is really popping these days. Every time I visit, there are plants coming into bloom that were not there before. This week, one of the treats is the allium. They are purple and round and charming, like little aliens from outer space, and I can't get enough of them.

The gardeners have surrounded the allium plants with tiny colorful snapdragon blooms, and I stepped off the pathway for a moment to put those pretty colors in the background for my allium shot.

You can see a second group of allium a bit further away, and I imagined the two rows of purple blooms playing a game, shouting out, "Red rover, red rover!" just like we did as children. (Or maybe a game of Spaceman: "Yes, if you have . . . PURPLE!")

I wanted to take just a minute out of this posting to share a philosophical thing. I am, alas, one who is prone to philosophizing about grace and mercy, and beauty, and time. I try to spare you from sharing ALL my thoughts on these matters, but I find there is one thing I need to say.

Each day, I try to go out of my way to find something beautiful, and photograph it. Since I have been on social media, it's become not just a personal mission but a public goal: I want to find something that will please me and also make others smile.

Sometimes my stop for pictures is just three minutes watching a dramatic sky show over a shapely tree.  Or five minutes stolen to spend at a little pond along a side road, where I admire the golden webs spun by spider artists in the mist. 

Still other times, it's the magic of full-on, frigid winter I seek. In the coldest mornings of the year, I am out there, all bundled up, having the time of my life. I am walking along Spring Creek, watching the mist rise like angels into the light. Or at Millbrook, once again, trying to capture the frost mist in the fleeting moments before it fades.

The thing that I wanted to say is this: Nobody says you CAN'T go out of your way to spend 15 minutes somewhere you didn't need to be, looking for something beautiful. Yet, I get a sense that few of us do it.

Here's the news: You don't need anyone's permission! Time is fleeting. These days will pass, and eventually end, whether you had fun or whether you didn't.

So for goodness' sake, steal a few minutes for beauty. Don't ask permission to pursue your delights. Go and see! Life is too short. Why waste precious time?

The soundtrack is a favorite Pat Benatar tune, and I can't believe I've never featured it here until now: Precious Time. Be sure to watch for the awesome guitar solo by her husband Neil Giraldo, aka "Spyder."