As the summer here draws to a close, the evenings are cooler and the lotus are blooming outside my front door, I have decided to start working on a blog and documenting my work. Change is in the air. Not just the season but with my activities as well. It will take me some months to figure out the finer details of this format as well as to get into some groove as to what I want to post and figure out who I am posting to.

I've been growing lotus in several large ceramic pots outside my front door for 5 years now. The balance of the clay, gravel, bone meal and fish fertilizer is important. Being at the mercy of the unpredictable summer weather is frustrating. I am not sure what I did right but I am blessed with 5 blooms this year. The flowers open slightly on the first day. (As in the picture.) The second day the open full for a few hours. The fresh green and yellow of the center of the lotus wither within a few hours. You have to be up at the crack of dawn to see the blooms at their best. A few hours later you are back in the waiting mode for another year.

The lotus is closely connected with Buddhism in Japan. From the muddy dirty water a pure flower can emerge. It's life short and fragrant and fragile.

The fragrance is heavenly. If you have smelled lotus essential oils you can somewhat imagine what the real thing is like.