I spent this morning wandering the Minnesota State Fairgrounds at the Minnesota Street Rod Association’s Back to the Fifties celebration – 12,000+ vehicles dating from 1964 and before. For a photographer, it’s a treat to the eyes with all the colors and details, reflections, and car enthusiasts. Even though the temperatures were hovering near 90 degrees, there was a plethora of people and families, with many Father’s Day celebrations taking place. As I was getting ready to leave, I saw these two Volkswagen Beetles, and was instantly taken back to my childhood and memories of my father. I remember the small light green Beetle he bought when I was about five or six years old. This was way before children’s car seats, and I would sit on my large stuffed red dog that was wedged over the parking brake between the driver’s and passenger’s seats and watch the world go by. There was also a small cargo area behind the back seat, perfect for one small suitcase, but it would hold me quite nicely. My memories of this little car are all good, and it was a welcome delight to reminisce of my father on this Father’s Day.
Minnesota
Peonies in full bloom
With a burst of color, the peonies have come into bloom. Their fragrance is brought to full fruition by the breeze that blows through the bushes, carrying the scent across the yard. And when I’ve brought the bouquets into the house, I can catch the fragrance as I walk from room to room. Perhaps it’s because they are short-lived that I look forward to their bloom each year. Or perhaps it’s because they remind me of my childhood – my parents’ love of peonies and the tradition of taking them to my relatives’ grave sites on Memorial Day. I’m especially thankful that these pink peonies are from the plants that were my parents’.
Clematis in bloom
Like the anticipation of spring, the same is true of the clematis bloom. They grow in spurts as the weather warms, the buds form, and they burst into bloom almost over night. The anticipation is part of the joy, because their bloom doesn’t last long. The heat, the wind, the rain – any of those will take the delicate petals off the vine. This Lemon Chiffon clematis bloomed this past week with a plethora of blossoms and a light scent that filled the air. Within the week, the rain and wind took the blossoms, scattering them on the ground. Like so many things, their beauty is short but is meant to be appreciated even more because of that.
Scent of lilacs
Not only has spring blossomed into our visual senses, but it has now spread its delightful scents throughout the air. With a few days of warming temperatures the lilacs quickly burst into bloom. How wonderful to be stopped in my tracks when their scent was being carried by the light breeze across the yard! To me, that is the true sign of spring’s arrival and the dismissal of the dark of winter.
The return of spring
Finally! The colors of spring have returned to our Minnesota landscape. The white of winter gave way to the brown, prior to the green of spring. And now the flowers have burst into bloom, adding their yellows and pinks. Not only has the landscape brightened, but peoples’ moods have been buoyed by the bright colors too. A bed of daffodils was showcased in front of a showy field of tulips — the best of spring all in one spot, and all blooming at the same time. When I was a child, we would make “baskets” out of colored construction paper, put flowers in them, and hang them on the doors of our neighbors to celebrate May Day. I’m intending this post as the present-day equivalent to my readers. Happy May and spring!
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