The Rose
by John Mooy
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” A quote from William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Do you remember that quote? Or how about this one, “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old time is still a flying, And that same today, Tomorrow will be dying.” That quote was from a poem written by Robert Herrick.
Or how about this one, “Holy Cow look at that rose out the window?” Well, I just said that the other day when I did look out the window only to see a single solitary rose atop a very long stem. The stem measured fifty-seven inches from the ground to the beautiful flower sitting atop the stem.
I began to think of all the flowers I’ve had the chance to simply look at throughout my life. While recently driving on the country roads south of Marcellus I couldn’t help to notice the large amount of daylilies that seemed to be in plentiful amounts spread across the countryside. These flowers, it appears, also like to grow next to the mailboxes maybe as a greeting to the rural mail carrier on his or her daily rounds.
Flowers I would say are synonymous with beauty. Some while in full bloom literally take your breath away.
I’m not surprised that my dad, who would go through the ritual each spring of planting flowers in our yard, would without hesitation name the dandelion as his favorite flower. While many individuals go through great lengths to rid their yard of dandelions, Dad would proclaim both their beauty and their usefulness; you can look at them, pick them and rub them on your face to leave a yellow color (kids love doing this). You can dig up the greens, boil them and eat them like spinach, make dandelion wine and when they have gone to seed another activity for the little ones is to pick them, hold the plant up to your mouth and blow on them and watch the seeds scatter.
In looking more closely at the rose outside the window I see that it has pushed its way past the lower cover of the fern leaves in pursuit of sunlight.
Often, in the most unusual of places a flower will for some reason appear as if to say, “watch me add some beauty to this otherwise drab area.” I say this because I’ve seen flowers emerge through the pavement of an old broken down out of the way road. Nature works in mysterious ways. I have a book with a passage in the front of the book that reads; “It’s best to leave Mother Nature alone, she knows her business better than we do.” And so, I believe so much of nature is to simply be observed and enjoyed.
Among the most beautiful flowers we have right here in Michigan is the Trillium which is gorgeous. It’s a three-petal flower, a creamy white color which is usually nestled above pointed leaves. It is a flower that is protected and against the law to pick. It was said if you picked a trillium, a certain harm would come to you.
When I was a youngster, I picked several trilliums.
Shortly after doing so, I contracted the worst case of poison ivy I’ve ever had.
Flowers – their beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And trust me, they’re most beautiful when left in the ground.
Have a great week, Marcellus
You’re the best
By the way, what do you call a clumsy flower?
A Whoopsi-Daisy
Roses are possibly one of the oldest flowers! There are rose fossils that date back 35 million years. The oldest living rose is 1,000 years old, and it lives on the wall of the Cathedral of Hildesheim in Germany!
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