peony season is back

Oh you beautiful little wonder. The peony.

So bright and cheerful. So feathery. So elegant. So lightly fragrant. Also, so damn seasonal.

So sad.

I didn't understand the magic of the peony until probably like 5 years ago. I'm not sure what world I lived in. But peonies are just amazing. The house we grew up in had a semi-circle driveway surrounded by peony bushes. This meant absolutely nothing to me. But I do remember peeking out the living room window curtains and catching stranger ladies cutting our flowers. I had no idea why.

When my parents moved from the old house to the new house eleven years ago, they took maybe 6 of the peony bushes. I still didn't understand why. Especially since they moved in the winter and had to wait until the spring to dig them out of the frozen yard.

But now I get it. Peonies are amazing. I love photographing them each year when they start to show up. I do it on an annual basis and not because I plan to ... it just happens. Evidence: 20152014, 2013, and 2012.

All of these gems this year are from my parents yard. I was home sick for two days this week with a weird, uncomfortable cold. My throat hurt. My ears felt wrapped in bubble wrap. Constantly out of breath. But, I knew the peonies would only look beautiful for a few days and I didn't want to miss them. So I left my tissue fort and crouched in the garden beds and snapped away. I also took all these pictures on the manual settings - and I'd like to brag about that a bit.

Ugh. I'm going to miss you pretty peonies. See you in 2017 and hopefully a bit sooner.

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