Fog

A Foggy Morning

This morning we awoke to fog.

It's not an uncommon occurrence this time of year

since the temperature fluctuates in mid-Spring.

Our location so near the Elizabeth River guarantees

we will have some fog when the conditions are right.

 morguefile.com

Fog delays and limited visibility can make fog a negative,

but the way it softens the hard edges of buildings

or rises from the water also makes it beautiful.

As long as we don't have to be "out on the road"

as my mom used to say, 

we can enjoy being home, inside the cloud.

Following are some photos that are reminiscent of 

foggy mornings in the Shire.

Fog floats around and through trees branches;

morguefile.com

This reminds me of the Dismal Swamp Trail, 

formerly old Hwy 17 to North Carolina:

morguefile.com

This next photo is exactly what the trails at Seashore State Park 

(now called First Landing Park)

in Virginia Beach look like on a foggy morning.

www.123rf.com

When I was a kid, I always thought it would be fun 

to walk in the clouds. 

On foggy mornings,  the clouds comes to us.

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White Lotus Day

Error runs down an inclined plane,

While truth has to laboriously climb its way up hill.

                           --proverb cited in The Secret Doctrine 

                    by Madame H. P. Blavatsky

Every day is a holiday somewhere in the world it seems.

May 8th is no exception. 

May 8th is the celebration theosophists call White Lotus Day,

in honor of Madame H. P. Blavatsky, 

a Russian-born spiritual leader in the theosophist movement.

photo: commons.wikipedia.org

Theosophy, according to Blavatsky.net,

is "a fragment of the ancient, once universal, wisdom teaching."

It has been described by some as "esoteric Buddhism,"

something Blavatsky denied, even though she studied extensively in Tibet.

Google Images: Madame H. P. Blavatsky, blavatsky.net

According to Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lotus_Day)

before Blavatsky died, she suggested to her followers

that they meet on the anniversary of her death

to read from the book Light of Asia and the Bhagavad-Gita.

When they gathered May 8th, 1891, 

white lotuses were blooming in profusion.

photo, 123rf.com

The lotus is an important symbol of spiritual development

in eastern philosophies

because it grows up from the  mud, through the water,

and blossoms into the air, toward the sky.

Each petal opens to reveal another.

photo, http://ziaenergetics.com/blog/

The seeds contain perfectly formed lotus leaves in miniature.

So Blavatsky's followers took the masses of white lotus blossoms as a sign.

Since, the observance has broadened to a day of meditation.

Regardless of one's beliefs, 

a day to contemplate the spiritual side of life,

as symbolized by a beautiful white flower

in the month of May, is a  good way to celebrate 

the beauty of spring.

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Hawthorn

In some accounts,

Common Hawthorn, crataegus monogyna,

is considered to be the flower of May

instead of lilies-of-the-valley.

This is according to Wikipedia.org.

One of the reasons is likely the hawthorn's nicknames 

of may blossom or may thorn.

It's also sometimes called haw or white thorn.

Of course, it blooms in May, 

and its blossom is the official state flower of Missouri.

photo, en.wikipedia.org

Common hawthorn doesn't have the gentle grace of the lily-of-the-valley,

but it does have a pretty white flower and attractive scalloped edges on its leaves.

And it has bright red fruit that attracts song birds like robins.

photo, en.wikipedia.org

Margaret Grieve, in her "A Modern Herbal"

published online by Botanical.com, wrote that country folk

believed the hawthorn genus crataegus oxyantha still bore the odors of the Plague.

(Remind me to avoid that genus.)

Grieve also said the shrub was once considered sacred 

because legend said the crown of thorns came from a hawthorn shrub.

The thorns are visible in this photo from en.wikipedia.org

Although primarily known for its prevalence--

it's become invasive in some regions--

the hawthorn is also known for its longevity.

One of the oldest hawthorn trees is said to have been growing 

since the 3rd century in Saint Mars sur la Futaie, Mayenne in France.

Hawthorn of St. Mars. Photo, en.wikipedia.org

History, mystery, beauty--I guess those things could

justify the hawthorn blossom as an alternate flower for May.

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