the hero

My friend Mellie likes to say that the harbinger of spring is when our friend Dave S. debuts his short shorts. I like to think that it is when the mysterious morel makes its first appearance. Though one can usually guarantee a sighting of Dave and his legs one does not always have the same fortune with the morel.  This year I am lucky. Except . . . I haven’t yet seen Dave so does this mean we are in a holding pattern??

I bought this peony bush last May at a peony festival near Kansas City. I was ready to plant some literal roots on my new land even though we had not yet broken ground and were still far from a design that I was happy with. The same day I bought him I rode my bicycle over to my land in the late evening, sun gone, with the peony and a hand shovel in my basket. I tried as best I could to gauge where the property line was, where I thought there might be lots of tractors and digging machines, and where I thought this little guy might just make it.

The land has since been mowed over, tromped over, stomped on,  and neglected.  All year I’ve thought about that peony. I thought that maybe I was a bit selfish to buy something only to soon kill it. But this weekend when standing up on my veranda I looked out upon the tall grasses and saw something of a slightly different hue than the techno-color green. I knew immediately that my little friend had survived.  He’s my hero. A big pink pom-pom Super Star.

So as not to be lonely, my Hero was given two friends by two friends of mine: I planted them last evening. On the last sunny day of the week before more thunder showers take over.

The lighting on this photo reminds me of PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, one of my all-time favorite films. I’m not wont to put my photo out here, but I really do like the sun flare on the top edge of the photograph. I also like that I could be in some field or meadow or be my mother 30 years ago. And I also like my friend who took the photo.

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