Father's Day
It's been a while since I've been to visit Mom and Dad. These days, the Garden is unkempt and overgrown, and some things have fallen over, yet their cenotaph remains undisturbed, a gleaming monument of granite in the midst of the dry brush. I laid the traditional four fruit offering, apples, peaches, pineapple, and bananas this time, and burned my offering of incense. It was beautiful out there, nary a cloud in the sky, the delta breeze blowing gently. That is the magic of the Gardens - even unkempt, when you're there, you're not really in Modesto. You're not really in California. It's like you're out of time and space, inside a dream of my father.
Despite the fact that nothing was planted this year, a cluster of lotus plants managed to grow this year. They haven't blossomed, but it was a small miracle. I tried to run some water in their dried-up pond, but the irrigation had been turned off and I didn't want to mess with turning on the lines without my brother's ok. So for a while this afternoon, it was me, Mom, Dad, and the lotus flowers. Oh, and the peacock in the distance that wouldn't shut up. Silly bird. Great looking animal, but man, they do make quite the noise.
I took a short walkabout of the flower beds while the incense burned down. They had had water in them from the spring storms, and despite being dry, it was in the beds that green was emerging. I found another couple of lotus plants by the pond by the giant willow, as well as cats o'nine-tail, and lillies. The other ones just had a collection of reeds. All around me, the Garden lay quiescent, half asleep, just waiting for a hand to shake it out of its slumber. For now, it's resting.
The incense had finished burning. I packed up and headed back to Modesto. But the time in the Gardens was the high point of my Sunday. Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you.
Despite the fact that nothing was planted this year, a cluster of lotus plants managed to grow this year. They haven't blossomed, but it was a small miracle. I tried to run some water in their dried-up pond, but the irrigation had been turned off and I didn't want to mess with turning on the lines without my brother's ok. So for a while this afternoon, it was me, Mom, Dad, and the lotus flowers. Oh, and the peacock in the distance that wouldn't shut up. Silly bird. Great looking animal, but man, they do make quite the noise.
I took a short walkabout of the flower beds while the incense burned down. They had had water in them from the spring storms, and despite being dry, it was in the beds that green was emerging. I found another couple of lotus plants by the pond by the giant willow, as well as cats o'nine-tail, and lillies. The other ones just had a collection of reeds. All around me, the Garden lay quiescent, half asleep, just waiting for a hand to shake it out of its slumber. For now, it's resting.
The incense had finished burning. I packed up and headed back to Modesto. But the time in the Gardens was the high point of my Sunday. Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you.