Dear Reader:

The best thing about having a garden is being taught so many life lessons that we can carry into our daily lives.

This photo was taken around 7:00 a. m. Friday morning….the afternoon showers that were predicted came early and  dawn hadn’t broken when I shot this photo.

But it was my old-fashioned long, narrow stem sunflower bush that started my awareness of different stages of life and how each stage has its own form of beauty…it never leaves us. Some times in our lives it is more obvious…but never-the-less it is there in all stages from subtle to obvious.

While taking a photo of a bee gathering nectar from one of the sunflower blooms Thursday afternoon…my attention was drawn to these strikingly beautiful “pods” that I had not noticed before…since I was used to only tuning in on the blooms…now I discovered what I had been missing.

I texted Doodle to see if she knew what stage of production these beautiful looking “gems” were in….neither one of us were sure. Did these appear before the bloom or after? Then finally when I went back out later in the day I found the clue I was looking for….apparently they are the birth pod from where the blooms sprout…you can see in the following photo…the beginning of sunflower petals emerging.

As I stood there admiring God’s Handiwork and creativity…it dawned on me that every stage in life is beautiful…for us humans also. And, as many of us have witnessed by now…we come full circle in beauty in our own life cycles.

Anne mentioned that her sister Nancy…who recently passed away… looked just like she did as a young woman when Anne arrived at her home this past summer. Decades of aging had not only ceased but reversed…she was youthfully beautiful in this final stage before departing…an inner glow.

I became conscious of this with my zinnias…there are still some that are brightly one-tinted like they have been all spring and summer…but now some are fading and blending two shades together…and honestly…to me (even with some “age” spots)… they are even more glamorous in these last stages before the first frost arrives some time next month.

Life has a way of compensating for aging doesn’t it…through beauty in nature in all stages or like wine growing better with time…

Here are some more favorites that just get better with age…..

1. jeans
2. cheese
3. a new haircut
4. good marital relationships
5. cast iron skillets
6. a worn in doggie bed
7. self-confidence
8. meditation
9. true friendships
10. quality leather goods

Have some fun and think of more….

So until tomorrow…..

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Jeff had just gotten in from Kentucky Thursday evening and had planned to cut the grass yesterday but Mother Nature had other ideas as the rain fell…so we postponed the “hair cut” until better weather.

Look what Jeff brought me back from Kentucky…a birthday gift! He told me his grandfather is known for his strawberry jam. I can see why…I fixed a bowl of cereal, made some toast, buttered and slathered the strawberry jam on it….oh my…heaven just got closer! 🙂