flowers, friends, and feelings......

I wandered around my yard this evening and took pictures of a few of the glories..........I love flowers! And since iris are some of the easiest flowers to grow--besides being spectacular in mass plantings.......I have several whatever they are called..clumps? maybe.......of iris. This yellow one is a newer one, and it puts on a show every year. It's like a patch of sunshine in my backyard and never fails to cheer me.




























This is also a newer one.........purchased in a "collection" or I probably would not have chosen it. But don't you think it is lovely? It's amazing to me how many times in my life I have been pleasantly surprised by something that would not have been my first choice. A record of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 in E Minor has got to take top honors in that category! It's been a top notch favorite for about 40 years since the happy mistake of not returning a "choice of the month" card to the record club. Happy, happy mistake!!!!



This lovely "speckled" one is a gift from a sweet lady who "adopted" me thirty years ago. She is gone now, and I think of my wonderful friend Mary every time I see this beautiful flower........I miss her....and not only for the dozens of holes she mended when I had six very active little boys to care for. I knew Mary loved me........









This too is one shared by a friend........this one a neighbor through the block.....no longer with us here, and now her daughter lives in her house......thankfully, she too, is a friend. I'm so thankful for the countless wonderful friends I've had throughout my life. And tonight I realized I was beginning a new friendship. As I weeded in the garden, the little three year old girl across the street called to me and tried to carry on a conversation. (My fifty-something ears don't hear so well at that distance.) And maybe I should have gone over to have a little chat with her. I'm sure there will be another opportunity, and maybe, just maybe, she will have fond memories of me as I do of my neighbors who have shared part of themselves with me.............