These colorful lily pads are a distinctive red color rather than the traditional green. I always considered myself a radical non-conformist. I guess being a non-conformist came with being raised in the 60s, but my non-conformity took a radically different turn from most of the protestors, I went on a mission for my Church and joined the U.S. Army, two things that weren't on the agenda of the usual flower child of my era.
Somethings only last a very short time. Even life itself is short, when compared to eternity. But every second can be lived as if it were eternity. Because eternity is really out of time and not limited by our human perceptions. These flowers last a day or so, but the concept of their beauty is eternal. The combination of form and color will always be beautiful.
There are all sorts of unusual and colorful things both natural and manmade. I tend towards the natural, but whenever there is any lovely or of good report, I seek after these things. Walking is a wonderful method of discovery. I see so many people walking out of habit or with purpose. Chugging along like taking bad tasting medicine. Every walk should be a time for reflection and discovery.
I guess I don't understand the idea of boredom. I am never bored. There is always never enough time to think about all the fantastic things there are in the world and all the things I have going on and plan new things to do. I found these pretty strange Opuntia (prickly pear) plants lying down and looking very green and healthy. They have glochids, but no spines to speak of. Pretty unusual and gives me more to think about.
Our society places such a hight price on physical perfection we have left reality far behind. If you taking a picture like this for commercial consumption, the tattered petal would be unacceptable. Nothing but perfect people living in perfect homes eating perfect food, driving perfect cars and looking at perfect gardens is good enough for the average American. Hence, the flower with the missing petal.
The ideal of old age is having time to "enjoy" life. I translate that into sitting around a lot with nothing to do. I am the antithesis of having nothing to do. But I do not advocate working 10 to 12 hours a day every day, no matter what your age. I am really in a race with old age and unfortunately, old age is winning. But I am not ready for sitting in the sun and doing nothing.
Raleigh, North Carolina has quite a few of these colorful cow statues scattered around the city. This one is on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. If you get a chance to drive around downtown Raleigh, take a look at the cows.
