Thursday, August 14, 2014

Counting blooms

I've noticed that Mom often counts blooms.  She might count the blooms on a new rose bush she has been given or she might count gardenia blooms as she plucks off the yellowed ones on an early summer evening.  She will know how many golden irises have bloomed in spring and how many different colors of zinnias she has in summer.  I think it comes from a lifetime of productivity--how many pounds of cotton picked in one day, how many rows of cane chopped, how many jars of tomatoes canned, how many bushels of potatoes dug, how many quilts made in a year, how many bra straps threaded at the textile mill, how many diapers changed in a day, how many kids bobbing in the ocean waves, always counting.
I do tend to count the number of birds in a flock if I can or the number of cars in a train.  I don't often count flowers, but sometimes...
Yesterday, there were no blooms at all on my 'Final Touch' day lilies.  Today there were several, probably the most I've had at once, so I counted them.  Seven!  Of course, I didn't stop with counting the number of blooms.  I noticed that two of the blooms had an extra petal.  I even counted the stamens.  The blooms with extra petals had two extra stamen each, eight each.  Aren't they pretty?

1 comment:

  1. Yes they are very pretty. There is something about a flower that brings to mind the scripture about clothing the flowers. Amazing the color. You can study any flower for a long time.

    Love your moms counting. I can relate to that. Me thinks you are on to something about the mental keeping track of the chores and jobs accomplished.
    Counting is a big part of my life. I do it automatically. (smile)
    From the Poconos, Sherry & jack

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