Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.
~Kahlil Gibran

Yesterday morning, after a photo frenzy with some rose buds, I looked at the kitchen counter. The formica expanse had a cluster of the week's vases, ready for putting away. Shoot it- I thought- don't move anything- no styling.

As I clicked, I plunged into a rapture of gratitude for loving photography. Later, when I looked at the shots, I liked one and thought- why not post just the one photo and find a gratitude quote for it?

As the day progressed with more photography, blog reading, and photo processing, it occurred to me that it would be fun, and a challenge, to post something everyday in November. 

Happy November 1st!

L X I X

One need not be a chamber to be haunted,
One need not be a house;
The brain has corridors surpassing
Material place.

Far safer, of a midnight meeting
External ghost,
Than an interior confronting
That whiter host.

Far safer through an Abbey gallop,
The stones achase,
Than, moonless, one's own self encounter
In lonesome place.

Ourself, behind ourself concealed,
Should startle most;
Assasin, hid in our apartment,
Be horror's least.

The prudent carries a revolver,
He bolts the door,
O'erlooking a superior spectre
More near.

Emily Dickinson

How would you feel about entering the fantastical garden of a treasured, Bay Area rosarian? Once outside Barbara Worl's gate, I forgot everything! I was there to interview her, but didn't even have a pencil and paper. I did have a camera though, and managed to take this image of Barbara as she came out to greet my friend Mary and me. The neighbor's kitty, Firecracker, checked us out, and then we were allowed entrance into Barbara's magical world.

It's hard to believe that Barbara's lush, other-worldly garden is on a modest city plot, located near downtown Menlo Park, California. Well-pruned fruit trees– guavas, kumquats, peaches, persimmons, and tree-leaping roses form a canopy, hiding Barbara's home, and sheltering a horticultural paradise. Light enters the canopy lace, and spotlights garden details throughout the day. In the back garden, amaranth rules the kingdom.

Roses and dahlias thread their way through grasses, clumping asters, lilies, rudbeckia, Japanese anenome, abutilon, salvias, solanum, and endless other delights.

Mary and I couldn't stop the exclamations and Barbara was a cheerful fount of stories and horticultural gems.