Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The Nature of Obsession












I suppose I shouldn't say it, but I'm going to anyway:  I'm stalking my peonies.





60 comments:

  1. Sweet capture of these ephemeral beauties! -- barbara

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    1. Thank you, Barbara. I trust you are enjoying your summer projects. Nice to hear from you.

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  2. LOVE it! A little stalking can be good for the soul. And I suspect your attention will soon move on...sunflowers, maybe?

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    1. And I can't resist a pun.

      I think my irises are glad I've turned my attention to the peonies. Speaking of glad, my gladiolas will be a little later in the line-up. I got the bulbs in late. Next - lilies, I suspect. My peonies will breathe a sigh of relief.

      Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. Dear Teresa, thank you. Anna Morrow Lindbergh wrote in one of her poems back in the fifties, "For beauty, for significance, it's space we need." Obviously there is space within your heart and mind so that you truly see the beauty around you.

    Peace.

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    1. Thank you, Dee. I hope whatever space I've created only enlarges and expands.

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  4. Hello Teresa:
    When scrolling down the page it was just like falling into a bed of gloriously squashy marshmallows. Your Peonies are absolutely wonderful. If only the blog post was scratch and sniff!!!

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  5. I've never been fond of peonies. You have given me a new way of looking at them so I can appreciate the beauty I was missing!

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    1. I"m so glad to hear that. They're an unruly bunch, and among my favorites.

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  6. Beautiful photos, hard to pick a favorite, but I choose #2, 6, or 7. Told you it would be hard!

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    1. Thank you, Bob. Your favorites have a dream-like quality to them. So, you're keepin' that dream alive!

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  7. You have a lot of beauties, there.

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    1. Thanks, Sandy. Your photographs of flowers are superlative. A real feast for the eyes.

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  8. OMG!!! They are rapturous! No wonder you are stalking them. ;)

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    1. I took more than few photos of them. Many more than a few. Obsessive is the only word to describe it.

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  9. OMG...those are incredible! Simply beautiful! Silly me...planted herbs. I want flowers!!!

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    1. Well, herbs are good. They're edible! I planted nasturtiums, which also are, but not as flavorful. :)

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  10. I have been gazing into peonies myself, these days. They are definitely a place to see worlds and universes unto themselves...

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    1. I love that thought: "a place to see worlds and universes unto themselves." It reminds me of another O'Keeffe quote, somewhat similar to your thought: "If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for that moment."

      Thank you so much DJan.

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  11. Oh my! One prettier than the next. The pinks are my favorites. Wonderful photos. Can almost smell the fragrance here.

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    1. They certainly have their own, very distinctive scent, don't they? Thank you, Karena.

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  12. I love the photos. Aren't they amazing flowers?

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    1. All those little nooks and crannies, spellbinding! Thanks for stopping by.

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  13. "I'm stalking my peonies."

    I'd stalk 'em too if they looked like that!

    Gorgeous!

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    1. Aren't they purty? I hope your travels are bringing beauty to you at every turn in the road.

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  14. I so love their bloom.I remember when I moved to a house and had a hedge row of them.I brought them in not knowing I also brought a few ants by not shaking them.

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    1. A hedgerow would be nice. I have very few ants, different soil, perhaps. New blooms keep popping out. The scarlet ones are the latest to show up, but there are fewer of those.

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  15. Gorgeous photos! Our peonies are beginning to bloom now too. What wonderful blossoms they are!

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    1. They are the first things I see outside every morning and the last I see at night. A very satisfying sight.

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  16. Thank God for peonies!!!! Sumptuous,scrumptious,delightful,delicious,..from the Greek 'Paion', the healer of the Gods.
    Oh how I wish I had peonies growing in my garden!

    :))))) your photographs are the next best thing, if only I had smelly-vision!

    Hugs Teresa,
    x Jane

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    1. They seem to be so alive and their qualities are myriad. Love your choice of descriptive words for them. Jane and Lance suggested scratch and sniff. I like to get my nose right in there and inhale deeply. They're sooo soft and such a seductive scent.

      See? Obsessed.

      Hugs to you, Jane. I trust your view is filled with beauty, too.

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  17. Mine are finished blooming now. I just cut off the old flowers and continue to water deeply. They are a gorgeous flower, aren't they? You have some wonderful studies there and could do some incredible drawings of what you have photographed! Or...just print and frame as they are. Wonderful!

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    1. I hadn't thought of drawings from them. That's a wonderful idea! Thank you so much!

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  18. My heart is going pitty pat, Teresa. Gorgeous. Ours faded a few weeks ago. Seeing your brings it all back. The first lily just bloomed yesterday. Isn't it all such a glorious thing to watch all these petals unfurl?

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    1. You've brought tears to my eyes, Penny. Beauty all around us.... It's so magical and wonderful. Thanks for sharing in it with me.

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  19. The word obsession comes from a Latin verb that meant literally 'to sit down at, to sit down in front of,' and whose extended meanings included 'to haunt, inhabit, frequent a place.' When I pursue my photographic obsession with native plants, I often sit down by one of them so I can see it on its own terms, so to speak. Sometimes I'll spend a good while in one place so I can look from different angles. And as you did with these pictures, I often get close to see small details that are invisible from a distance.

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    1. I love words and I love dictionaries, often looking up a word I know the meanings of just to shed new light on it. It's often very illuminating, isn't it? I saw yet another new peony today that has a slight variation in color and even scent. It's amazing what we see if we really take the time to look. I was entranced by the curl and interplay of the small petals near its center. Oh, yes, time well spent.

      Thank you, Steven.

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  20. I just want to jump in those petals. Nose first!

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  21. Brava Teresa hai dato risalto a un fiore delicato e voluminoso. Complimenti e a presto...ti seguo!!!
    Ciao, Simo
    http://valzerdiemozioni.blogspot.it

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    1. Thank you so very much! You have beautiful photographs on your blog. I'm so happy you visited my site.

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    1. Thank you, Cait. It's hard to go wrong with such beautiful subjects.

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  23. But where are the ants? Lovely blooms. The quote is a bit familiar!

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    1. Must be a difference in soil, but I have almost no ants on my peonies. I thought that quote would ring a bell with most people. It was used on the USPS issue of her stamp several years ago.

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    2. I've also used it on my email signature for the past 7-8 years, maybe longer.

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    3. It's a lovely idea for an email signature.

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  24. Stalking the peonies--I laughed out loud. You are a hoot. And a great photographer.

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    1. Thanks, Galen. Hope you're having a wonderful Sunday.

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  25. We all have obsessions... some that get us into a lot of trouble, but I think this is an "magnificent" one. I won't tell.

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    1. And now a slightly different type of peony has just started to bloom, with a yellow center, so I don't think it will be abating any time soon.

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  26. Here in central Texas we have a native wildflower called peonia or featherleaf desert peony, which isn't in the same botanical family as peonies but which someone must have felt resembled them:

    http://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/peonia/

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    1. I was completely unfamiliar with this wildflower. Lovely image you've captured. Thanks for returning and telling me about it.

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  27. I can't imagine a better way to spend your time, getting to know your peonies! Like most good friends, they certainly do give back, don't they? What lovely flowers.

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    1. I'm sitting here at my kitchen table with the last of the bouquets next to me. I went out between downpours and collected the late bloomers. They have provided so much fascination and beauty. I trust your day in New England is off to a fine start.

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