life/death

It's not just jasmine season.  In the stores (Trader Joe's, to be specific), it's also peony season.  I have to confess, I don't recall ever seeing a peony until I saw that at TJ's in recent years.  My loss - they are fantastic cut flowers.  Bold and showy and with a nice but not strong scent.  I bought some a week ago, and almost all of them opened up beautifully.

Alas, as with all cut flowers, their lives are finite.  It felt poetic seeing the petals on the floor one morning. 

I never did see any fall, but the petals accumulated, and soon I shall be throwing out the bare stems.  Life and death, captured so gorgeously.