A Great Lady...

Yes, she has figured on the Swenglish blog before...

... Mother Nature herself, who creates what human artists can only dream of...

See how gently she holds the Iris offspring, as if with two maternal, protective hands, until the newborn bud is ready to enter the world on its own and spread its petal wings...

And how human the delicate details of the adult flower look, the veins on the petals, the petals who in turn resemble tongues, or raised arms over an imaginary head, or body parts whose names are far too intimate to voice in a blog aimed at a family audience...

These irises (?) were picked on one of my recent evening walks. They grew by the side of the road, far away from any house or garden, and despite looking very tired, I could not resist bringing three stems with me home.

Even in their wilting stage, I find them breath-takingly stunning. In the photo above, some of the tired petals look like sleeping butterflies to me, with folded wings. Or am I just having a "Rothshield moment"? (The psychological test where you talk about what you see in a smeared-out ink blob, having folded a piece of paper in half after placing a blob of paint or ink in the middle.)

It does not matter what I may read into these blue babes, because what I see is beauty in its purest shape.

Mother Nature - my kind of artist...