Monday, June 23, 2014

THE TIGERS ARE BACK!!

THE TIGERS ARE BACK

by Jim and Shirley White






Last year was dry. There were no Tiger Lilies in our Secret Meadow. Well there were actually three, all droopy, dried up and sick looking. This year it is really dry. Really very dry. But not in our Secret Meadow. There are hundreds of our Tigers, all bloomed out and of a beautiful orange-yellow with black spots everywhere. The bees and butterflies are there too. And the meadow is all squishy to walk on. We feel terrible to walk out into this Garden of the Gods. It is impossible not to trample something. We try to be careful, but to no avail. Something must get injured for us to photograph our loved ones. The meadow is circled with the beautiful Death Camas flowering plants. They are white and shaped like a Roman Candle. And deadly if you eat them. Lewis and Clark ate them and survived. I would not try them ever. But we thought our meadow would not be a bad place to die.
We of course are not ready yet for that. Our heart's raced fast when we saw our meadow this year. How can our meadow be so wet, moist and beautiful, in this dry, crisp and brown year. Ah! it is green and beautiful now for a while. But we fear it will dry out this year. But the beautiful Tiger Lilies of our Sierra Nevada mountains will only go to sleep and wait. For the rains and snow will come and new life will happen again  in our little Secret Meadow. We can't wait to go again!