sultry daylily

sultry daylily 

days – each fragile flower blooming

by day just one day

Grandma's frilly double orange daylilies are blooming profusely in this intense heat and humidity, bursting open in rapid succession like a fireworks display. All that work for only one glorious day, since each blossom has just one day to fulfill its primary purpose. The flower opens at sunrise and withers at sunset. If it is successfully pollinated, a seed pod will form when the flower drops off. If not, another bud on the same scape will open the next day, and this succession of flowers continues for many days. The genus name for the daylily, Hemerocallis, comes from the Greek words The genus name for the daylily, Hemerocallis, from the Greek words hēmera (day) and kalos (beautiful). These perennial plants are native to China, Japan and Korea, where pinyin (yellow needles) are used in Asian cuisine. Grandma used all parts of the plant: fresh and slightly withered flowers as well as new leaf shoots in salads, dried flowers as a thickener in soups, and boiled roots in stews, while a tea made from the roots was used as a diuretic and mild laxative. I like to eat both buds and blossoms right off the plant, consuming the beautiful day.

peeling paint shadows

peeling paint shadows,

afterimage of old wooden 

stairwell on brick wall

Old wooden stairwells clinging to the outside of brick buildings were once used for accessing the second floor. But time and weather have rotted the wood to the point of liability, so all over town they are being torn down. The once-a-door on this building has been blocked on the outside with a block of wood and covered with plastic, so hopefully no one will fall out. Colorful remnants of paint where the stairs once climbed this brick wall now look like an abstract mural. I am glad no one has painted over it.

summer-hot spring night

summer-hot spring night

art walk, flying leap walking

art, two novel works

Early June, feels like August. Afternoon sun cooked the rain-soaked ground, steaming the air. First Friday of the month, so everyone turns out for Art Walk on the town square. Several bands in the bandstand, lots of food vendors, street vendors, all the galleries open. At The Crest Jewel, an exhibit of Rachel's unique handmade felt hats draws a crowd, or maybe it's the artist, immobile as a mannequin, wired into a fantastic costume. Though skimpy, the wool must be quite hot in the narrow shop packed with sweaty bodies. Rachel takes a break to climb the narrow flight of stairs to Flying Leap, where there's an exhibit on time travel, to show her futuristic outfit to Donna, the owner, who's wearing her own unique version of walking art.