An Infinitely Changing Pattern

 You may think that infinity is some abstract idea of mathematics. It is really something that we see in some of our most ordinary and mundane experiences. For example, the water falling over this small ledge forms a pattern, in this case frozen in time by a photograph. This pattern is constantly changing and if left to run without end, would form an infinity of different patterns. What is interesting is that we are individually completely surrounded by such infinite patterns. 

Center Street and University Avenue, Provo, Utah

 

This is a photo of downtown Provo, Utah looking north towards the intersection of Center and University. Provo has buildings going back into the late 1800s and many of them are still in use in the historic downtown area. All of Utah Valley is experiencing a building boom and several new buildings are under construction downtown. This was a lovely warm, Spring day and we had a nice walk around the downtown area. 

Dreaming During the Pandemic

 

I was looking at some of my photos from the past and dreaming about times when we could travel across the country. This is a photo of the Kent Narrows in Maryland looking out over the Chester River from the area around the Chesapeake Heritage and Visitors Center. Fortunately, with vaccinations, we have started traveling again. 

Sandstone, Sun, Shade, and Clouds

 

There are parts of southern Utah that look like impossible, fantasy landscapes. One of those places is known as Kodachrome Basin. There is no real basin but the name was given back in the days when cartographers has free rein to give names using whatever analogy they wanted to employ. In this case, the name was coined by the National Geographic Society in 1948. Here is a short history of the name from Wikipedia: Kodachrome Basin State Park. 

Evidence near the park suggests that Native Americans were the first to wander through the area. Around the turn of the 20th century, cattlemen from Cannonville and Henrieville used the basin as a winter pasture. In 1948 the National Geographic Society explored and photographed the area for a story that appeared in the September 1949 issue of National Geographic. They named the area Kodachrome Flat, after the brand of Kodak film known for its vibrant color rendition. In 1962 the area was designated a state park. Fearing repercussions from the Kodak film company for using the name Kodachrome, the name was changed to Chimney Rock State Park, but renamed Kodachrome Basin a few years later with Kodak's permission.

 

 

Allium or Onion Flowers

 

"Various Allium have been cultivated from the earliest times, and about a dozen species are economically important as crops, or garden vegetables, and an increasing number of species are important as ornamental plants." See Wikipedia: Allium. These beautiful purple flowers are essentially the same thing as the onions you eat with hamburgers and hotdogs. 

Spring Flowers at the Provo, Utah City Center Temple

 

The temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been both completely and partially closed since the inception of the COVID-19 Pandemic. But despite the pandemic the flowers still bloom in Spring and since some temples have been partially opened, we can walk around the temple and enjoy the beautiful trees and flowers. We can also hope and pray that the pandemic will end and we can return to full temple activity. 

The First Iris of May

Spring brings a succession of flowers. First, come the crocuses and hyacinths. Next, we see tulips and daffodils. By May, most of the early flowers are gone and we see the magnificent explosion of our lovely irises and peonies. We love to watch the changing seasons and each has its part in the beautiful world. 

Looking after the young

 It is impressive to see the changes that go on around us as we move from Winter to Spring and from Spring to Summer. We saw the geese with two lovely babies at the Ashton Gardens in Lehi, Utah. Actually, Lehi is one of the cities in the huge Utah Valley where our home is also located in Provo, Utah. Anywhere in the valley where there is a body of water, we will see birds including geese, ducks, seagulls, pelicans, and a host of other species. 

Aloes in the desert

 

I find that many people think of Arizona as one huge desert but this is far from the reality. One of the most impressive places to visit in Arizona is the Boyce Thompson Arboretum located about an hour east of Phoenix on Highway 60 just south of Superior, Arizona. For many years, until we moved to Utah, my wife and I had a membership in the Arboretum but we make a point to visit when we return to Mesa from time to time. It has one of the most impressive collections of desert plants from around the world and may dramatically change your impression that all of Arizona is a barren desert. 

Down the tulip path

 

With my background that comes from living in the low desert of Arizona, I associate Spring with cactus flowers. Now that I live in the mountains of Utah, I am beginning to associate Spring with tulips. Unfortunately, we can't grow tulips ourselves because the deer that live around us love to eat them. Every year the Ashton Garden at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah has a Tulip Festival. As you can possibly tell from my recent photos, this is a lovely Spring experience. 

The Heart of the Tulip

 

This flower is known as a parrot or fringed tulip. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of varieties of tulips in the world. Here is a summary of tulips from Wikipedia: Tulip

Tulips (Tulipa) form a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly colored, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm colors). They often have a different colored blotch at the base of the tepals (petals and sepals, collectively), internally. Because of a degree of variability within the populations, and a long history of cultivation, classification has been complex and controversial. The tulip is a member of the lily family, Liliaceae, along with 14 other genera, where it is most closely related to Amana, Erythronium and Gagea in the tribe Lilieae. There are about 75 species, and these are divided among four subgenera. 

The variety, color, and form of tulips are amazing.  

Spring Flower Displays at the Ashton Gardens, Lehi, Utah

 

We love gardens and we love flowers. The Ashton Gardens is a relatively new garden with a huge variety of flowers, trees, and other plants. We have a membership so we can visit as many times a year as we would like. We also get the benefit of the American Horticultural Society Reciprocal Admissions Program that gives us access to many other gardens across the United States for no additional admission cost. I am also glad I have a digital camera because I can essentially take an unlimited number of photographs. 

Falling Water

 

Officially, there are 17,079 waterfalls in the United States. See List of Waterfalls in the United States. This is actually not one of them. This is a water feature at the Ashton Gardens in Lehi, Utah. However, it is more accessible and just a lovely as a "real" waterfall. 

Fosteriana and Lily Tulips

 

The purple tulips with the pointed petals are called Lily Tulips. The large red tulips are called Fosterianas. There are hundreds of varieties of tulips and each one has its own name. There is a whole world tulip culture and some of the bulbs selling for thousands of dollars. Historically, the most expensive flower was the Semper Augustus tulip, which sold for as much as a fine home along the best canal in Amsterdam during the 17th century.

Another Grand Canyon Photo

 

Whenever I visit the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, I take lots of photos. Most of these photos are of the Canyon itself. Does the world need another Grand Canyon photo? Yes. Recently, the coal-fired power plant near Page, Arizona was permanently shut down. This photo is from my first visit since the shut-down and the air is as clear as I have ever seen it and I have been going to the Grand Canyon for over 60 years. Now some photos show the Canyon with clouds or snow. These photos are usually on a day that appears crystal clear. But the day in this photo was perfectly cloudless and you will always see the natural blueness of the air. This is always true because the oxygen in the atmosphere scatters blue light. Here is the same photo without some of the blue in the air removed. 

Here is what it looks like with the blue removed entirely. 

A Mature Saguaro Cactus

 

The saguaro cactus or Carnegiea gigantea is iconic and has come to represent not only Arizona where they grow but also deserts in general. This mature specimen is likely over 100 years old. It is growing a small cactus collection located in the Mesa, Arizona Park of the Canals. The saguaro blossom is the state flower of Arizona. You can barely see the flowers on the tops of the long saguaro arms.