Lotus Blossom

'Mrs. Perry D. Slocum' lotus in bloom

'Mrs. Perry D. Slocum' has put on its first bloom--isn't it a treat? It's supposed to be heavily tinged with pink (see here), but its present pale lemon-butter color actually melds very nicely with everything else that's blooming in the pond.

'Mrs Perry D. Slocum' lotus, unusually devoid of pink

It had already dropped a petal or two in the water, causing Matt to uncharacteristically murmur, "Lotus petal, floating in the pond..." which sounds rather Eastern and poetic, but actually makes for a somewhat odd half a hiaku:

Lotus petal, float-
Ing in the pond...

Very pale 'Ellen Bosanquet' crinum

Our pondside crinum, which is supposed to be 'Ellen Bosanquet,' is also in bloom, though it too is a little off color--unusually pallid.

'Steven Strawn,' the fountain, and (in the way back) the blooming lotus

And my new fave, 'Steven Strawn' is blooming again. When water lily blossoms fade, they sink back into the water, where they take on an oddly poignant quality, like so many drowned Ophelias.

One living and two dead 'Steven Strawn' blooms

In the event that you were worried about the fish (in light of the pH weirdness), look! A fish! First one captured on... digital thingies. I actually saw at least 4 this morning (not sure how many of the orange comets I saw--they all look alike): at least 2 comets, plus Lena and Jupiter. None of them looked sulky or depressive, so I think they're all fine. Admittedly, it's hard to tell with fish.

They're hard to photograph, though, so I had to futz with the pic in Photoshop for the little fella to be visible at all. See the orange smear to the bottom right? That's him. Unfortunately, I'm not the world's most adroit Photoshopper, so now the picture's about as convincing as those photos of the Loch Ness Monster.

It's a fish! I swear!