Picture of dancing iris
| | | |

Dance like no one is watching

ByLakota Grace

Picture of dancing iris

I once borrowed a very expensive sports car and was cruising down the freeway when I was pulled over by the highway patrol. When I protested that I had been carefully driving under the speed limit, they cheerfully agreed. “We just wanted to see what one of those looks like up close. Have a nice day, now.”

This white bearded iris reminds me of that car. It appears to be dancing fifty miles an hour while it’s just standing still!

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibar tree,
And he sang as he sat and waited for his billy-boil,
You’ll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me
~Australia’s national song, 
written by Andrew “Banjo” Paterson~

 

Similar Posts

Snow in Zion National Park
| | | |

Snow in Zion National Park

ByLakota Grace

Ansel Adams used to hoist his huge large-format camera onto the roof of his “woody” station wagon to get the exact shot that he wanted. He was working with plates, rather than film, which made getting just the right shot so important. He planned ahead. I’m no Ansel Adams. Call me an impulse photographer. Yet,…

Age and beauty define the lichen of this world
| | |

Age and beauty define the lichen of this world

ByLakota Grace

Mindfulness helps you fall in love with the ordinary. ~Thich Nhat Hanh Cracked volcanic rock, almost elephantine in its folds and crevices, lined a short walk on my way back to the Museum of Northern Arizona near Flagstaff. What delighted me about this canyon was the overabundance of lichen, profligate in its blooming on this…

Perfect symmetry
| | |

Perfect symmetry

ByLakota Grace

Upside down, right side up, left to right, right to left. If you’ve ever noticed, we don’t often find (almost) perfect symmetry in nature. That’s why, when I found this vista, I was delighted. Symmetry creates a comforting predictability. Two by two, like the story of Madeleine living in the convent. Or Noah’s animals in the…

Stairway to the stars
| | | |

Stairway to the stars

ByLakota Grace

Whenever I go touring historical houses, I always head for the kitchen. There I will find where the real work was done, and where the folks that did it hung out. Although this Southern mansion had an elaborate, curving, walnut-carved balustrade in the front of the house, this simple staircase in back, divided for male and…

Using what lies in front of you
| | | | |

Using what lies in front of you

ByLakota Grace

My parents and their parents were children of the Depression. They saved string, wore hand-me-down clothes, and ate left-overs–ALL of them! A favorite expression was “Making Do.” Native American families before the age of supermarkets and department stores did the same thing. In this picture you’ll see, on the right, a healthy agave cactus. Vivid…

Dancing in the sunlight
| |

Dancing in the sunlight

ByLakota Grace

Desert wildflowers are an exercise in impossibility and stubbornness. They chose where they will grow, often in a mere handful of dirt deposited among the rocks by the spring rains. And yet attempt to plant and grow these red penstemons, or beardtongues, in your own garden and they often will refuse to sprout, year after…

2 Comments

Let me hear what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.