Take time to stop and smell the roses...

We are always so busy.  Every day we have lists of things to get done around the farm, with homeschool, at work and even for enjoyment and recreation.  With Daylight Savings Time ending last weekend, the shorter days are, well, sticking with the rose (and Biblical) themes - a THORN in my side.  When I get off work and begin my 50 minute commute home, by the time I'm almost home, the sun is casting long shadows across the fields.  Tick, tock, tick, tock.  Racing the clock...

We always hear the quote, "Take time to stop and smell the roses" and it is so true.  This past Saturday, I did exactly that!  Tricia always wanted roses and I would rather spend my time growing things that you can eat.  I finally acquiesced and planted a white one, a yellow one, and a pink one and they've done well, despite my lack of knowledge about how to grow them.  They were in bloom and I was able to capture photos of the full range of stages of the roses in bloom.

Here is the rose bud.  You can see that it is just barely opening up, giving just a glimpse of the pink color of the beautiful flower that will be showing itself soon - a hint of the spectacular event about to unfold.

The rosebud

Now the rose is beginning to open.  It hasn't reached its apex yet, but is still nice to look at.

Petals beginning to open in the morning sun

Here is the one that you want to not only look at, but smell.  Just stick your nose right up in there.  Mmmmm. The rose is radiant in its beauty.

Full bloom

Like so many things (including humans, Ha Ha!), the rose isn't in its prime for long.  It begins to droop, sag, and fade in its former glory and luster and although it still has some aspects of its former greatness, it's past its prime.

Delta Dawn, what's that flower you got on, could it be a faded rose from days gone by?

Which brings us to decay.  It's not much to look at anymore.  In fact it is pretty much an eyesore.  The once beautiful, brilliant pink blossom is brown and dead and will soon drop to the ground and become part of the soil.

The once beautiful flower is no more...

But wait!  What is that thing?  What is that bulb underneath where the flower used to be?  It's a rose hip.  A rose hip is the fruit of the rose plant.  Who knew?!  The rose hip can actually be used to make jelly, syrup, and tea, among other things.  So just because the rose blossom is past it's prime, doesn't mean it has lost its usefulness. (There's a lesson in there, somewhere, if you look for it!)  In fact it is now doing it's most important work.

The Rose Hip

You see, inside the rose hip are seeds.  Seeds that if planted just beneath the soil, can grow additional roses, although they may take many months to germinate.  Hmmmm.  So in an incredible cycle and with the passage of time, the once beautiful rose now produces fruit.  That fruit produces seeds that create new roses, that if cared for and nurtured, can create new roses in exponential fashion, shining their beauty to all who take a moment to behold them.

Take a moment to behold them!  (And do your best to create YOUR OWN new 'roses.')