The sun is so much higher in the sky now, but we’ve really lucked out so far on the summer weather. The heat is coming, and I’m not acclimated yet on my late afternoon runs. It’s still cool and comfortable in the morning, and the girls were even chilly, though they tend to be a little overdramatic about moderate changes in temperature.
The light has changed so much in the past week; it’s harsher than normal, even in this early hour. The flowers love it though, and they are stunning to look at. We see something new every visit – today we found an alligator, and a hippo. I have no idea how we’ve never noticed them before. I won’t tell you where they are, maybe you can find them the next time you visit.
Purple hydrangea and yellow flowers within red ones. The girls are studying everything. E’s drawing patterns onto any flat surface these days, and I tell her she’ll never run out of ideas if she sketches in a garden.
An older lady passes us on the sidewalk, and she’s pulling a cart behind her. At first it looks like a picnic basket, but then we realize it’s a basket full of painting supplies, and she has a couple of canvases on board as well. The girls stare wistfully after her.
We always love when the purple “gum drops” appear; we found white ones this year as well.
And toasted coconut balls, with lemony centers. We start spotting candy flowers everywhere.
F spends the rest of the walk plotting ways she can be granted access to the “secret, forbidden island”, the one on the other side of the Japanese bridge that is closed to visitors. We see a gardener leaving the island in a motor boat and she fixes a jealous stare on him as he motors away. “Maybe they should have a contest, and the winner gets to visit the island. Alone. For as long as they want to stay. They should have tickets, but just one. Maybe a golden one. A golden ticket gets you onto the secret, forbidden island, forever if you want. Or for at least one day out of the whole entire year.”
Our favorite flowers are blooming – the ones that look like little lanterns. E is convinced that the purple parts weren’t so full last year – that maybe these are double blooms. She might be right.
We’ve set out to see the iris at the zig-zag bridge, and we make it in time. We aren’t rushed this morning, which is a rare treat for us. The flowers are as tall as F, or taller. I take photos of the girls next to the raccoon statues, but I’m not posting them yet. I want to find some of our old shots with the same friends, and we can look at them all together and talk about taller once again.
So much growing and blooming and sunshine and heat right now, where we are, where these girls are. I mark it in weeks, and begin againĀ each Wednesday.
So lovely. F’s vision of the secret island…oh my heart.