As we enjoy (or endure!) the hot and sticky days of mid-summer, I have been thinking about transformation – particularly the transformation of my favorite plants and bushes. The glorious bursting and blossoming of spring is finished, and the summer plants seem much less interesting by comparison. Now, granted there are some stunning displays, in particular, the expansive fields of sunflowers. But the early roses have either turned to rosehips or have a fresh bloom camouflaged by dead heads. The hydrangeas are drying and turning color, but they now fade into the foliage instead of standing-out with neon flash. Some of the beautiful lilies have turned to seed heads, and the most prolific bloomers are grasses … not exactly show-stoppers!
The transformation of our gardens from lush to dry, and from rainbow-hued to monochromatic, signals a shift in the cycle. The seasons are changing.
In the midst of the dry, hot days of summer, do you long for the sparkle and dazzling beauty of spring? Or does mid-summer have it’s own kind of beauty? Beauty that doesn’t depend on flash and sizzle, but on a recognition of the constancy of the ebb and flow of the seasons. The slow, steady changes that bring about noticeable transformation are all around us. In every season there is beauty. And in every beauty there is change.
This week’s music invites you to revel in the midst of summer, enjoying every nuance of the season before it, too, cycles and passes.
ST#71 – Summer Sounds