In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Intricate.

Today is May Day, and on my walk today I picked a bouquet for myself. I made a small bouquet of the simple, yet very intricate dandelion.

When I was a little girl of five, I would eagerly collect a big bouquet of these bright yellow flowers to present to my mom on Mother’s Day. She would love them, put them in some water, and save them for as long as she could.

When I was eight, I would take the brightest dandelion, hold it under the chin of my best friend, and determine by its reflection that she loved butter.

When I was thirteen, I would blow the seeds off the stem of the dandelion, making wishes as they floated away.

But now I am much older, and I am looking at the dandelion for all that it is…an intricate flower, a blessing of creation. If the dandelion were not so plentiful, if we had to buy them to plant in our gardens, if they were featured at botanical gardens as very special wildflowers, we would appreciate this beautiful flower much more.

Take a look at the flower itself…hundreds of thin, intricate, yellow petals explode from a stem top looking for all the world like an exploding firework.

Look at the seed head, a perfect sphere of intricately arranged seeds.

And my discovery today…take a good look at the dandelion leaf!

On May 1, as we are all so pleased with the return of warm weather, of spring flowers, and of garden vegetables that are beginning to appear at the farmer’s market, the shape of that dandelion leaf reminds us to delight in this spring season, because it will not last. That beautiful dandelion leaf looks a lot like an evergreen tree. It reminds us that seasons keep changing, and come six months from now, the only green we will see here in Missouri will be the green of the evergreen tree.

So, I will keep walking each day, enjoying the season, looking forward to the intricacies of the next season, and the next, and the next…