I’ve lived in Seattle since 1991 and yet, before yesterday,  I had never been to see the Tulip Festival in the Skagit Valley. Given how much I love flowers, this is unbelievable on my part! Year after year, I admired photos from friends who had driven one hour north of Seattle to see the fields of tulips. Oh, we had plenty of excuses not to go. The main excuse was that we had a second home, the ocean house, and dashed over to the coast nearly every weekend to be there. I believe losing Toni helped me to prioritize seeing the Tulip Festival this year. No! I was simply not going to miss it one more year.

The Tulip Festival in the Skagit Valley is pure magic! Seeing the pink, red, and yellow tulips lifted my spirits. The air smelled so fresh, the day was warm, the sky clear, and we had a great view of the Cascade Mountains. As we walked, I kept thinking about Toni and how she would have loved walking along the paths. How she would have enjoyed posing for photos! Her dazzling smile would have competed with the beauty of the tulips.

Like all flowers, tulips bloom and show their gorgeous bright faces for just a short time. We are gifted a short window of time to experience their exquisite and simple beauty and then that’s it. Just like Toni, they make their bright appearance and then they are gone. While tulips are in bloom, their turban-like form and their bright splashes of colors dazzle the eye. There is no red like the red of a red tulip.

I believe flowers have the power to help heal a broken heart.

Take time to enjoy these photos.

The word “tulip” derives from the Turkish word for “turban”. I think this tulip looks very much like a turban. I love how my Leica camera picked up the shiny wax-like petals. I love this tulip! I found myself thanking the flowers for their presence, for their pure joy of simply existing! This tulip is like a heart in full bloom, Toni’s heart!

 

I imagine every driver wanted to pull over to take a photo of this field.  The beauty of this scene is punctuated by the presence of a horse! No Parking signs along the road seemed like a loud invitation for us to pull over and take a quick shot! I love the horse’s single white sock.

This yellow tulip is like Toni! It stands out among all the others. Different and yet somehow, elegantly fitting in. Drawing our attention, tugging at our hearts. Standing tall, nearly jumping out of the field, this tulip spells out J-O-Y.  This yellow tulip shouts: I’m here.

I love this photo! My favorite. I like the people against the field of tulips. The tulips in the foreground are yet to bloom, full of promise.

Another favorite. As Rick pointed out, the trees in the background look like Italian Cypress trees so this photo is like a merging of the Pacific Northwest, Rome, and Holland.

The global death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 3 million this week. I look at these fields of tulips and wonder if each tulip were to represent one life lost to the pandemic (the tall yellow one is Toni!), could this this be what 3 million looks like? It is hard to fathom so much loss.

I am still wrapping my arms around one loss, our Angel Toni.

POP UP Yoga in the Park (Seattle’s Green Lake Park, near the Bathhouse Theater). Classes by donation.

Sunday, April 18 (today) 10-11am

Tuesday, April 20 6-7pm