A particularly graceful rain-lily
During my visit to the Doeskin Ranch on April 8th I found the forms and colors of this rain-lily (Cooperia pedunculata) particularly graceful.
© 2016 Steven Schwartzman
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And ahead of its time?
Gallivanta
May 1, 2016 at 6:11 AM
No, I wouldn’t say it was ahead of its time. We have two species of rain-lily in central Texas. The one shown here appears primarily in the spring, and the other mostly in the fall. I’m the one who’s ahead of time, writing May when I meant April (I’ve fixed the error).
Steve Schwartzman
May 1, 2016 at 6:20 AM
I probably wouldn’t have noticed the date except that 8 May is a date that always gets my attention. It’s my father’s birthday.
Gallivanta
May 1, 2016 at 6:50 AM
Happy forthcoming birthday wishes to your father. Are you planning another hop across the Tasman Sea?
May 8th must have taken on a second significance for your father in 1945 when it became VE Day (Victory in Europe Day). Coincidentally that was the birth date and year of one of my two good friends from childhood, who unfortunately died young two decades ago.
Steve Schwartzman
May 1, 2016 at 7:19 AM
No, I am not going over till later in the year. It’s also Red Cross Day and Mother’s Day. So perhaps in view of all these associations and in memory of friend, family and general peace and goodness you could republish this beautiful photo on 8 May ? It has a loveliness to it which incorporates all these things; at least I think so.
Gallivanta
May 1, 2016 at 8:31 AM
I think yours is the first suggestion for a “reprint” I’ve ever gotten. I’ll see what I can do.
Steve Schwartzman
May 1, 2016 at 8:54 AM
That flower is beautiful, like porcelain.
Lavinia Ross
May 1, 2016 at 10:45 AM
Knowing how delicate a rain-lily is, I wouldn’t have compared one to porcelain, but you have the advantage of an imagination untethered to the physical reality of the flower and therefore to lead you wherever your vision wishes.
Steve Schwartzman
May 1, 2016 at 10:53 AM
With all the rain we’ve had, interspersed with days of warmth and sunshine, I’ve been on the lookout for these, but haven’t seen a single one this year. Even the vacant lot across the street hasn’t produced one, and it was full of them last year. As you’ve said, one year’s appearance is no guarantee for the next.
This is an especially pretty example. They’re well worth looking for.
shoreacres
May 2, 2016 at 9:17 AM
I’ve found no big rain-lily colonies this year, just individuals and small groups. Whether I’ve missed existing colonies or whether there really haven’t been any so far this season, I don’t know. I remember the vacant lot across from you last year, so I’m sorry you haven’t come across a single rain-lily this year. Good luck in the days ahead.
Steve Schwartzman
May 2, 2016 at 10:09 AM
Gorgeous and graceful 🙂
Julie@frogpondfarm
May 3, 2016 at 4:14 AM
That’s how I saw it, Julie.
Steve Schwartzman
May 3, 2016 at 7:40 AM
The way you captured the image of this lily makes it look like a painting.
My Small Surrenders
May 7, 2016 at 7:40 AM
This photograph has a natural softness that pleased me—and you too.
Steve Schwartzman
May 7, 2016 at 7:47 AM
[…] stand on end. I can’t remember having that kind of reaction to a flower before. The image of a rain-lily (Cooperia pedunculata) tricked my eyes into seeing the soft brush strokes of a floral portrait. While the bent stalk of a […]
Flourishing: An Ode To A Yellow Four-Nerve Daisy | My Small Surrenders
May 7, 2016 at 5:37 PM