The tulips were a startling source of joy for us. We did not expect them to be so red, to be collected in such perfect clumps around the trees and in the front beds. We did not expect to be so pleased by the three rouge white tulips that somehow worked themselves up in between all the red. I was surprised about how deep a sense of loss I felt when the blooms began to fade. But, then, the Spirea began to bloom, spilling the white blooms over the top of our steps and dropping tiny white petals on the ground below. They are beginning to fade slightly now, too, and I have been feeling the same sort of peculiar grief as with the tulips. Perhaps I should have more faith because our first rose opened this weekend. Pink and sweet smelling and otherwise wonderfully indescribable.
