Five in One

My rose mallow hibiscus bush is booming. This is the first time I’ve seen five blooms packed so tightly together.

 

Garden, July 8

Our July garden is thriving. I didn’t know it was possible to yield thirty or more echinacea blooms from a single plant, but it is happening this year. My pink rose mallow hibiscus has hundreds of buds on it that will burst into color by month’s end.

Hibiscus on the First Day of Fall

My hibiscus bush has rebloomed in full in time for the beginning of fall. This is such an oddball sight for northern Ohio this late in the season. Either I’m merely lucky, or I am witness to yet another sign that this planet really is warming up.

I dug out my 50mm lens for some of these pictures. I’m in the habit of taking multiple shots of the same object, and it seems that I end up wishing I’d brought along the 50mm only when I’ve left it at home. Since this bush is in my backyard, I was able to rectify this situation.

My 50mm is manual focus, and sometimes I accidentally focus on nothing. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Each of these flowers is about six inches in diameter. This year the bush grew taller than I am, with a dozen blooms on it daily during parts of July and August. I’m pleased it was able to make a comeback before frost settles in.

Summer’s End

This evening as I was flying over country railroad tracks in my CR-V and listening to “Stonehenge” by Spinal Tap, I felt that I had slipped into one of those odd peak moments of life. Years from now, I will look back at this time and feel it was one of many encounters with effortless joy. I will know how strange it was that I thought I was already old. I have felt old, but old in a good way, since birth.

I’m also pleased that my hibiscus has rebloomed. That is enough for now.