We had a mini fieldtrip to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens this mornng

Various staff went and we were back in two hours. It's about a 10 minute drive although the garden lies just about directly across the Anacostia River from the Arboretum. The recent spending bill that appropriated money for roads, bridges, etc., included 10 million dollars to complete the Anacostia Trail System. There are rumors that that will include a pedestrian footbridge between our two gardens. That would be nice but I'm not holding my breath. 

The lotus are in bloom, obviously. I never know how to feel about such a superabundance of beauty.  One flower, one bud even, is unbearably beautiful. We were surrounded by acres, thousands upon thousands, of flowers. Damn, it just seems like too much.

Joan brought Scout, her dog. They're shown with Chris Carley admiring the flowers.

It's not a beryllium sphere, it's a seedhead from Magnolia macrophylla

It looks me in the eye every day just across the side deck from the front door. You can't see it in this photograph, but it's one organized, geometric, grounded item floating in a sea of random growth. There's something about that that appeals to me. 2,500 years after the Greeks began a quest to find constancy amidst the perpetual flux of the world the concept still resonates. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. I suspect it's a good thing to embrace the disorder of the world. I'm still trying but I'm not sure I'm making progress.