Kansas

A softness to peony season

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Spring seems to have been our shortest season this year. As soon as the snow went out of the landscape, green appeared. And yet now we’re already on the other side of spring into summer. We’ve had days of record-setting heat and humidity in the past week – a true reminder that June weather can bring just about anything.

The peonies in my garden burst into a riotous bloom a few weeks ago. There were shades of pink, red, magenta, maroon, white, and even a lovely coral. This is the one time of year I wish for no rain. May and June rains tend to be downpours, with raindrops falling hard through the sky and pelting any flower petals. This year we missed some of the heaviest rain, and the peony blossoms remained and came into full bloom.

I’m lucky to have some plants that are from my mother and father’s yard in Kansas. They’ve adjusted to our Minnesota weather, and I especially enjoy seeing those particular peonies come into bloom. My parents referred to peonies as “memorial flowers.” In Kansas they hoped the peonies would bloom right before Memorial Day so they could pick arm loads of them to place on the grave sites of family and relatives. I’ve since learned that tradition came after the Civil War when peonies were placed on the graves of fallen soldiers on what was then called Decoration Day. It was (and is still) a small gesture, but the remembrance and commitment is so much larger.

Frost

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Our snow drought continues in the North. Where we would normally be looking out at a foot of snow or more, we are still able to see grass blades standing up through the snow dusting. Even my family in Kansas has enjoyed more snow than we have, although “enjoy” may not be the word they would use.

But we have had cold temperatures. Our lakes are frozen and we have had some lovely frosts – the kind that coat the tree branches and leaves, and the field grasses that are still standing. Even if we have no snow, for a short period of time in the early morning we can look out on a landscape painted carefully with white.

On another note, today was Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington, D.C. I was quite taken by the eulogies and remembrances that were said this morning. He was a humble yet inspirational man who accomplished so very much in his life. In the mid-1970s, I lived in Georgia for a short period of time while he was governor. Even then I was impressed with his honesty and genuineness. The world is a better place because of him and the people he touched.

Joy and excitement

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The month of December is busy and hectic, with so many things to do. We hurry from one task to the next as though it’s a race to the finish line. But we all seem to be searching to find the joy and excitement of the Christmas season – the thrill we once had when we woke on Christmas morning and couldn’t wait to see what Santa might have brought while we slept with ears open for the sound of reindeer on the roof.

But maybe that joy and excitement is out there, just in different places waiting for us to see it. The other night I was thrilled to see a barred owl in the yard, watching over the grasses and looking for a meal. It stayed for more than ten minutes, watching me move about inside the glass doors. Today while pumping gas into my car, I saw a flock of pigeons flying in unison. They’d swoop up in the air together, then fly downward – all in one motion. And then the sun peeked from behind the clouds, and when the birds would turn in a particular direction the sun would sparkle off their wings. It was momentary and exciting.

I wish for you to find that child-like joy and excitement this Christmas season, and into the coming year. Merry Christmas! 

A trip to Kansas

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I’ve recently returned from a trip to Kansas for a lovely family wedding. Two (pandemic) years have passed since I’ve seen my relatives and it was well worth the drive. En route to the wedding, and on the return to Minnesota, I carved out some time for exploring and visiting some of my favorite areas.

Near the center of the state, running from north to south, are the Flint Hills of Kansas. This is the largest expanse of tallgrass prairie that remains in the world. Most of this area has a very shallow soil with a subsurface of limestone, all of which made the area uncondusive to agriculture and spared it from being plowed. It is a landscape of big vistas, rolling hills, and grasses.

The Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse sits on a hill within the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City, Kansas. Built of native limestone in 1882, classes were held in the single room from 1884 to 1930. Before arriving at the schoolhouse I had been following an old stone fence line and photographing a white church that glowed in the sunlight under a blue sky, all the time being serenaded by a herd of cows. Within twenty minutes the sun disappeared behind gunmetal gray clouds and the temperature starting dropping. When I arrived at the schoolhouse the flag clearly displayed the howling of the westerly wind. The setting took on a bleakness that I hadn’t experienced before, yet I’m sure was familiar to the early settlers that had tried to sustain a living in this area.

Peonies for remembrance

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It’s been peak bloom for peonies this past week. With our hot temperatures and gusty winds I can walk outside and immediately smell the scent of peonies in the air. It’s a short-lived bloom season, and perhaps that’s one of the reasons I savor every day. We’ve added additional peony bushes over the years, but I continue to favor the ones that I transplanted from my mother and father’s house in Kansas. These are the ones that were on the side of their house, sometimes neglected, but they continued to blossom. Each year my parents would gather and cut the blooms to take to the cemeteries on Memorial Day and lay on the graves of relatives. Fast forward to now, with both my parents having passed on, I’m filled with wonderful memories and see these Kansas peonies blooming in honor of my mom and dad.