There’s an abundance of lotus flowers in the pond at Green Spring Gardens this summer…more than I’ve ever seen before, and we’ve been visiting there for the past 15 years. The park was one of Emma’s, and now Lucy’s, favorite rabbit and deer hunting grounds. This photo was taken as clouds passed over the setting sun, so it doesn’t have the golden glow cast upon the lotus flower here, which just happened to post on the morning my father passed away. Titled Silent Sunday: Padma, W, who had been maintaining the blog and was visiting his own family out-of-town, had set it to auto post well before learning about my dad. He categorized it as “nature,” which was obvious, but also as “seeking peace,” which also made sense considering padma’s meaning. When a commenter asked what padma meant, W answered, “Padma is Sanskrit and Tibetan for lotus. It’s one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhist teaching. I thought it was appropriate for a serene Silent Sunday post.” In light of my father’s passing, seeking peace is apt even more so, and I’m happy that the lotus blossom kinda symbolizes that day on the blog.

Much ado about nothing, really, ‘cept weaving like threads into a tidy memory.