It’s been some time since I’ve written on Rose-Colored Glasses. It’s where I stop to smell the roses. It’s the time that it takes to drop everything to really look and live through visible eyes, not solely through a lens… in a walk… or just listening to the sounds of the birds in the trees with eyes closed for a bit. I admire nature. I love it’s details, its splendor, its vibrant colors, even its changes. Everything has a purpose in its lifespan through the seasons. It’s here for us to do this very thing: Stop and smell the roses, to breathe in and breathe out, to really live each moment that we are given. It is never to be taken for granted or advantage of. Life truly is a precious gift and it is what God gave us, what He created for our enjoyment to unwind and recuperate from needless stress and worry. Simply breathe, stop, listen– all of us. We’re too much in a hurry. Listen to the still voice. Ponder for a while.
Here are the leaves on my Don Juan climbing rose after a light rain. The tea rose plants have burgundy-red on their leaves and stems. Do you notice the cross in the center of the three leaves? 
Nothing can cover and adorn a fence as lovely as Honeysuckle growing on the vine. It perfumes the air, one of the pleasant scents of Spring. Not only beautiful in its appearance, it’s friendly to the birds and the bees.
It’s beautiful any time of day. Certainly a rose-colored moment…
This year was the best year for my Irises. We picked off the spent blooms, immediately, and they seemed to have lasted longer as a result. Every year there are more Irises that come up; therefore, more blooms! A cooler spring has been helpful. Next year, I should have my black ones bloom for the first time, even the blues and the tiger-oranges. It will be their grandest year, yet!
The white ones remind me of a white cotton shirt!
This one is not just purple, it’s a deep purple before it unfolds; like an amethyst stone on a ring.
The yellow, lemony and banana in its shades of color.
The fuzz on the bottom petals look like caterpillars. 
Iris petals turn and ruffle.
Even their thin spots are sturdy and strong. Veins are visible. This Iris has champagne-pink on some of its petals.
I still love and prefer the vintage cake pans. I like the rust that has accumulated, the industrial look, the textured bottom for easy cake release, also the lever that is not a handle!–It’s funny– I grew up with these pans and I never knew that it was a cake release so that you could turn it to flip the cake out onto a cooling rack. You simply move the “handle”! I always used to grab onto it when setting a pan aside. My mother-in-law ‘educated’ me on the matter. I’m not too proud to say that I don’t know everything in the field that I’m educated in; I’ll be the first to admit it. I think one of the best things a person can have about themselves is to admit what they don’t know. It’s alright not to know everything in the world– no one is truly a know-everything-person when you think about it. We’re just people. We get our ideas and knowledge from others much of the time. Embrace what other people tell you, the knowledge that they have, what you can learn about something that you thought you already knew. It might be worth its weight in gold.
An Origami Owl dangle bracelet–
http://thoroughbreddesigns.origamiowl.com/
My summer daisies have bloomed– Shasta Daisy– right after the Irises closed for their season. The Shasta Daisies will continue to bloom through early Fall. I put these all over frosting. I just might sugar them for the tops of cupcakes this year. There might be a jelly for them, also. The list is endless of opportunities for edible flowers to cook and bake with.
I’d like to do something with orange Tiger Lilies while they’re in full bloom.
These grow naturally in a field of pasture.
These are still the best flowers to pick– the wild ones, the weeds! Every child loves them for their mother.
I planted poppies this year. They have come up, baby plants. I hope they will make it through summer without getting burned, possibly blooming in the Fall.
These are blueberries. They’re almost like a robin egg-blue when it’s early in the season.
The Concord Grapes are creatures, too. They immediately grow their vines to wrap around anything that they can hold on to. They seem to know how to pull themselves upward, hanging stoutly in a storm. I am amazed at their attributes, their intelligence and strength. They may not have a mind but they know what to do! They seem to operate with a plan as though they guide themselves. Their gardner is their creator; I simply help manage them. I usually don’t need to water them for the amount of rainfall we’ve had this Spring. I pull the weeds around them and pick their fruits when they have ripened. It’s genuinely a blessing how they give back, the gratefulness in the abundance of their fruit. They are like trees.
The young grape leaves are tender, good for preserving in a brine for wraps. They have a fuzzy edge. They are intricately designed, don’t you think?
Here are what the grapes look like, now. They have grown but still have a ways to go before they are large deep-purple. They’re halfway there in reaching maturity for picking.
The red currants are ripe for pie picking. My third year, I am able to harvest them plentifully, having enough. They are itsy-bitsy and sweet-tart. They ripen into a gorgeous red.
Enjoy the rose-colored moments, take time out for yourself. There are times when it’s necessary.
[pink for Breast Cancer Awareness]
For more rose-colored moments, find and follow Skirt in the Kitchen on these sites:
Leave a Reply