Snip, snip...
Time to clip the beautiful pale pink peonies from my garden out front and bring them inside to enjoy.

Peonies have been a treasured flower in Asia for centuries. It is no wonder when you look at this flower's splendor of delicate tissue paper petals that form the nodding head blossom.
Used symbolically in Chinese art, it is considered to be a "flower of riches and honour" and represents shyness and beauty. The Chinese name for peony is 'sho yu' - meaning most beautiful. In folklore the peony was believed to have been created by the moon goddess to reflect the moon's beams during the night. During the Middle Ages 'lunatics' were covered with peony leaves and petals in order to cure them. It is considered unlucky to uproot the plant, and the seeds and dried root used to be worn as a protective amulet against evil spirits. Named after the Greek god of healing, the peony was also used extensively in medicine.

By Mary Oliver, the poem Peonies:
This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers
all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again —
beauty the brave, the exemplary,
blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?