Reflections on the Thirteenth Week of Winter –

Escape to the Flower Show

 

Water Landscape with Cherry Trees

On March 10, 2018, Spence and I visited the Philadelphia Flower Show with ten thousand people weary of winter. Below are three of nine postcards I wrote about our vacation. Visit WellsWoodPa to view all nine.

Country Mouse

Mural on Jefferson Station

Dear Joyce,

My reactions to visiting Philadelphia surprised me. Spence and I walked down 13^th Street Friday. Sun-blocking skyscrapers towered higher than maples. Bicycles zipped along the sidewalk’s edge, cars zoomed across one way streets, and pedestrians zigzagged around us. I felt like a woods turtle in the middle of a weasel race. At Holiday Inn Express, the receptionist offered us a room on the seventeenth floor. I gasped. “Seventeenth?” The woman studied her computer screen. “Would you rather be on the ninth?” In room 909, I plopped into an easy chair. Whoop. Whoop. Whoop. “There’s an emergency in the building,” a voice announced. “Go to the fire stairs exit and wait while we investigate.” Whoop. Whoop. Whoop. I grabbed my coat and purse. Spence followed but said, “It’s only a drill. Didn’t you see the flier in the elevator?” I

Water Landscape - Gutter and Tub

relaxed―until 2:00 a.m. Saturday. Cars honked. People sang. Men shouted. I bolted out of bed. “Is that a parade? Are people protesting?” Spence rolled over. “The bars just closed.” I climbed back into bed. Sheesh. I’d become a country mouse.

Love,

Janet

Photos

 

Photos - Taking and Posing

Dear Sister Julie,

Fragrance of humus, orchids, and narcissus permeated the air at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Water trickled, a recording of tropical birds looped, and thousands of people murmured. Dazzling colors and dramatic shapes drew people’s focus through cell phone and camera lenses. Selfie sticks waved overhead. Again and again, I juggled my Nikon and camera bag to switch the wide angle lens for landscapes to the small zoom lens for individual flowers. Spence rescued me. “Give me the bag. Put the lens in your pocket.” That worked better. Most people waited while others took pictures. A few pushed in front and stepped into exhibits despite “Keep Off” signs. At the Zen garden, I discussed angles with the woman beside me. We took photos and changed places for more. Then I looked

Zen Garden

behind me to find Spence. He said, “You two were the same height and had the same hair color. I had to be careful which woman I followed.” By noon I had two hundred sixty-some photos and a dead battery. I grabbed my cell phone. Its focus wasn’t as sharp as the Nikon’s, but I didn’t have to switch lenses anymore.

Love,

Janet

Butterflies Two

Clipper Butterfly on Spence's Swab

Dear Lori and Eliza,

At the Philadelphia Flower Show, Spence and I crowded into the live butterfly exhibit with young couples and families with children. Tall people had an advantage. They reached anywhere with their sugar-water soaked swabs and coaxed butterflies off the tent’s netting. I tempted butterflies off the sides or drooping overhead sections. A toddler waved a swab in front of her waist. Holding a monarch on my swab, I crouched. “Would you like this butterfly?” She nodded and held out her fist. “Do you want it on your hand?” She nodded again. I touched her fist with the swab. The monarch walked onto the back of her hand. She shrieked and flung her arm backward. The monarch zoomed away. “The butterfly tickled me,” I said. “Did it hurt you?” The toddled sobbed. Her older sister held her shoulders. Her mom turned to me. “She’s okay. She’s

Tiger Swallowtail on My Hand

frightened of butterflies.” Hoping the toddler would outgrow her fear, I offered butterflies to elementary school children―a zebra longwing, a tiger swallowtail, and a clipper. They thanked me with smiles that radiated through their cheeks and eyes.

Love,

Janet