Beauty Near - Apple Blossoms, Full Bloom - Missoula, Montana

“Sometimes it is enough to be near something lovely. It doesn't require possession; nothing has to come of it, nothing need be created from it. Let its purpose be to exist solely as a thing of beauty and provide joy.”

-Chi Chi Armandonada in Tony’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani, p. 590 (large type edition)

Peony 3, Full Bloom - Missoula, Montana

"...and all day

under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
...stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again—
beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?..."

-from Peonies by Mary Oliver (b.1935)

Full Bloom - Missoula, Montana

"I hope you will go out and let stories happen to you, and that you will work them, water them with your blood and tears and your laughter 'til they bloom, 'til you yourself burst into bloom." - Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Full Bloom - Missoula, Montana

“The... branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers: blooming is hard, and the most important thing is - to bloom. “ - from “A Story About The Most Important Thing’ by  Yevgeny Zamyatin (1884-1937)

Full Bloom, Missoula, Montana

“As long as we are persistence in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will

fully bloom. It happens in its own time.”-
Denis Waitley

Fritillaria Finale, Hamilton, Montana

The fabulous, albeit smelly, fritillaria attained full-bloom early last week.
Their flamboyant visuals win over the smell - plus it's rumoured that they keeps furry friends out of the flower bed.