Life is like a box of farm-fresh vegetables. You never know what you are going to get.

I know. I know. I can hear Rose Alcantara’s voice already, “Don’t play with your food!”

I can’t help it. Such an abundance. It demands a shot at Still Life before it is reduced to gourmet.

We got the stack, above, and lots more the other day. Delivered to the front door. Straight from the farm.

Well, not the bottle of Tawney Port. That was already here. I just added it to the pile for a little Old World charm. Though, it will go nice with this stuff, how ever Rose chooses to dispatch it.

I take photos and do the dishes.

Happily. (I know you were wondering.)

Fantasia

The giant bouquet was in the courtyard of Instituto Allende, the centerpiece and sole remnant of yet another enchanting San Miguel wedding reception.

I love it that, once the merry-makers disperse, the floral arrangements often remain. I mean, nobody is going to stuff this into their carry-on bag.

It gives the rest of us something fleetingly beautiful to gaze upon for a day or two before the wilting begins.

Only a few days before this bouquet was created, I was having coffee in this courtyard with Rose and our friend Cheryl McCarthy and I was trying to explain the fountain phenomena. My words did not reach this level.

The fountain at right is located in Plaza Civica in Centro.

The flowers filled the fountain at the beginning of October during which, I am sure, we were celebrating something. We usually are.

Probably the feast of our city’s namesake, the Arcangel Michael.

Let it bleed

This floral delight of hanging tassels grows in the Allende courtyard, not far from the fountain bouquet. Its official name is Amaranthus caudatus. However, the task of assigning a popular name was clearly turned over to a poet with a green thumb: “Love Lies Bleeding.”

Perfect.

Even Elton John borrowed the name for a blockbuster hit song in the 1970s — although the only flowers mentioned in the lyrics are “roses in the window box/ (that) have tilted to one side.”

Still, one of his all-time greats.

Amaranth can be harvested as a grain and included in cereals, similar to quinoa.

It’s not just another pretty face in the Garden of Earthly Delights. It supposedly prevents heart attacks, improves digestion, boosts immune systems, controls diabetes, promotes muscle growth, and about a dozen other good things. No wonder the Spaniards banned its cultivation by the Aztecs …

Wow. And I thought it was just a pretty garden centerpiece.

Can you spot the Amaranth in my breakfast bowl of granola?

Yes, I will take pictures of just about anything …

Just kidding. I have no idea if there is Amaranth in there.

Well, the dishes await. Until next time …

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Put more magic in your life!

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