Gathering Seeds and Memories

 

Thankfully, the temperatures have moderated, but the drought continues. My little patch of Zinnias continue to brighten the landscape. They are so very resilient. Despite being eaten by insects early on, getting completely lopped off by the strong after winds of Hurricane ? (can’t recall the name), and subsisting on very little rain, they have come back strong and beautiful and are providing these waning days of summer with a bit of vibrancy.

Now that I’m back in school, I find myself very much appreciating the few quiet moments outdoors, on the weekends mostly. Today, as I was watering, I noticed one lone dried Zinnia head and I decided that it would be wonderful to save some of the seeds since I’m loving the intense hues of these particular Zinnias. They are a mix of lovely pinks. One that I tried to capture in the above photo is what I think of as an antique orangey pink—a color that evokes mystery and depth and days gone by. My phone camera doesn’t quite capture the true hue.

As I plucked the dried flower head/seed pod, I traveled back in time to when I spent an afternoon with my Grandmother going around her yard collecting the dried seed pods of various flowers in her yard. I was somewhere around 8 or 9. I certainly found the activity engaging as I discovered the various forms and textures of the pods and seeds. We brought them all into the house and sat at her kitchen table, carefully extracting the seeds and placing them in labeled envelopes. Part of me thinks this may have been a two part activity, with us laying out the flowers to dry thoroughly before extraction. 

I think the best part of this memory is the pleasure and content I found in spending time with my Grandma. I realize now that she was one of my first genuine friends who truly loved and cared for me. She made time for me and seemed to delight in my presence. She lived just a quarter of a mile down our country road where I could easily walk or ride my bike. We spent a fair amount of time working together in her yard. She had a small orchard out back where we would pick up sticks and/or apples, depending on the time of year. Oh, and there was a wispy willow tree that while beautiful and fun to “swing” on its trailing branches was always dropping those branches. Hah...maybe it had to do with us swinging on them. Ah...I have so many more memories that fill my heart, but I’ll stop here for now. 

I hope the beauty of nature and comforting memories fill your heart and mind too, despite whatever circumstances you find yourself in during these uncertain times. My prayers and thoughts are with you who live on the west coast. Much peace and love to all of you.