Monday, June 20, 2011

There is so much ugliness in the news recently, so many men behaving badly, so many governments around the world shooting and killing their own people that I decided to write about some of the more beautiful things in my world.

Right now, in Maryland we are in the lushness of a waning Spring, which was somewhat tentative this year. As I drive on the country roads in the upper parts of Montgomery County where I live, I can now enjoy the "tiger lilies" dotting the roadside. These perky orange lilies grow wild alongside the country roads where the rural atmosphere prevails.

You know, those narrow roads, sometimes classified rustic, where there is little or no shoulder and the tree canopy creates an umbrella across the roadways -- these are the kinds of roads I mean. I have heard that some want to trim the trees, reduce the canopy, flatten out the road edges -- but I say no, not now, not ever. This is part of the rural heritage the county has worked so hard to protect and preserve. If one looks closely, one can not the many shades of green, from the deep forest green of the evergreen trees, the spruce and the pine, to the fragile green of the younger trees and the mature green of the stately oak. Together, against a forest backdrop they create a wonderful palette of colors.

I see the yellow fields of wheat softly waving in the warm breezes, the low green leaves of soybeans and the newly planted corn growing straight and soon to be tall. Farms showcase sheep and bleating lambs, cows with nursing calves, graceful horses grazing or trotting across the grassy meadows come into my view as I drive along. Still I also see deer, fox and raccoons -- driven out of their natural forests, and now inhabiting my suburban village. I hear that the so-called protected lanes of the ICC have been breached by some unfortunately adventurous deer. We are not yet good neighbors to all of our wild, or even, domesticated creatures. (Although I do agree that we have far too many deer -- but that is a subject for another day.)

On Facebook I saw a cute video of some of Montgomery County Police attempting to catch an apparently domesticated goat which was playing in traffic near the MVA in Gaithersburg -- but it got away -- and I hope it found safer pasture somewhere! Kudos to our officers in blue for a good hearted effort!

Roses have been beautiful this year. As I walk among neighborhoods in and around my community, I see terrace and trellis trailing brightly colored roses. Daylilies with their yellow and variegated flowers compliment the roses. Butterfly bushes attract many types of multi-colored butterflies with their fragrant aromas. The gardens are at that interim and wonderful state, blooming but not yet needing weeding.

We have already seen temperatures over 100 degrees this season even before summer is officially here, but this week has been wonderful. Temperatures in the mid 70s, little or no humidity, and sunny skies welcomed us after some thunderstorms blew through over the last few days. However our longest daylight hours are around the corner of this week -- the fireflies will flicker and flitter through the evenings and the summer stars will loom larger. I am hopeful that we all can enjoy cooler, yet pleasant, evening strolls, enjoying natural vistas and fragrant scenes.

Let me hear what good news you might wish to share.

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