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Thursday, September 22, 2011

"Although (MY) garden is a lovely place, was it worthy of so fine a guest?'


A dragonfly came to see me — or my Sweet Autumn Clematis — in my urban (NYC) terrace garden earlier in the week, and since (A) summer is closing in on us (the season of autumn begins at five o'clock in the morning tomorrow) and (B) I live in a city, this was an unusual occurrence. 

Although the city I live in is New York City, and perhaps the creature had heard Frank Sinatra crooning, "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere. It's up you New York, New York . . . "

In any event, the lovely insect permitted me to take its photograph with the Autumn Clematis's flowers; and my seeing the creature enjoying itself prompted me to think of the 1971 Fleetwood Mac Golden Oldie known as Dragonfly, a song which was inspired by "the tramp poet" AKA W. H. Davies, who wrote a poem about dragonflies which inspired the following lyrics from Fleetwood Mac:


"And when the roses are half buds half flowers
 And loveliest the king of flies has come — 
 It was a fleeting visit, all too brief
 In three short minutes, he had been and gone

 He rested there upon an apple leaf
 A gorgeous opal crown set on his head
 Although the garden is a lovely place
 Was it worthy of so fine a guest?

 Oh . . . 
 Oh . . .
 Oh . . .
 Oh . . .

Dragonfly, dragonfly, dragonfly . . . "

Long before this surprise and much appreciated visit, I had read (for full article click here) that the visit of a dragonfly is designed to remind us "that living is the moment, the breadth of now. Happiness is the spark within, new beginnings are possible, transformation can happen. There is hope and there is change coming." 

Well, change is imminent since today, Thursday the twenty-second of September, will be the last full day of summer for the 2011 season. Some gardeners, such as  the infamous (and recently departed) Eleanor Perényi, did greet the season of autumn with a "feeling of suspense"; in her book, Green Thoughts, in a chapter titled Autumn, Perényi pondered the season's onset in the garden as this :"When will the final curtain fall?"   

As for me and my gardening endeavors, I am too busy enjoying my fall blooming perennials and the bees playing with my Hyssop as discussed in this past Tuesday's blog entry to ponder "when the curtain will fall", and besides, my Autumn Clematis (a vine I have written about in a number of blog entries which you may refer to by clicking here as well as here and here) and I have just been visited by a dragonfly!

Hopefully, the dragonfly's visit a visit, that supposedly (as indicated in the aforementioned quote) is a symbol that "beginnings are possible, transformation can happen. There is hope and there is change coming" will prove to be prophetic!


HAPPY LAST DAY OF SUMMER!

4 comments:

  1. What a wonderful entrance into a new season! I'm looking forward to hearing about your New Beginnings and Transformations as they develop. Thanks so much for sharing your garden with us!

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  2. Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog, read an entry, and post a comment, Dan. I look forward to hearing about your new beginnings too, and, as for my sharing my garden with you and Phyllis in cyber-space, you are both still welcome to visit it in "real time" but that does involve walking up seventy stairs (-;

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  3. Thank you for your comments on dragonflies and offering the corresponding article. A few years ago a dragonfly flew into my apartment. I was terrified. I called my neighbor, who then called the police. Interestingly enough, two officers came over and caught the dragon fly (with leather gloves on his hands) and threw it out the window. He also said that the dragonfly was a gift from god. (I'm not making this up.) A few months later a dragonfly crashed into my window. Was it the same one? I don't know. I will no longer be afraid of dragonflies.

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  4. Thanks for sharing your story, Trina. Calling the police? Witnessing them "throw it (the dragonfly) out the window" — talk about police brutality — especially since they thought an appearance by dragonfly was a "gift from God". In my research, I did find a lot of evidence that many people, as well as organizations, perceive the appearance of a dragonfly to be a gift from God — particularly if one has just experienced the death of someone close to them.

    As for the dragonfly that crashed into your window, maybe he was coming back for revenge; but, since your windows are so clean, it did not notice it was there and thus it crashed.

    I appreciate dragonflies, Trina, so I am glad to hear you are no longer afraid of them. I'll warn them about you the next time you come to my garden. (-;

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