The joys of imperfection

My husband, though he occasionally breaks his own rules, has always resisted giving me flowers; something to do with cutting them off in the prime of life... or so he says.

So of course I would love to have a garden, a really big and colorful one, mostly wildflowers, I think -- just to get those wonderful textures, colors and scents into my life.

Instead we have a yard populated almost exclusively by dune grass -- though we do have a bush of beach roses -- and every time I've made the effort to plant things a high tide would come along and inundate them with salt water.

I'm not complaining, mind you -- I'm mostly just explaining why I kept coming back to this picture, taken on our tour last week.  It's not a great image, not beautifully composed, not even perfectly focused.  But I LOVE the color; it feeds my soul.

So on the off chance that color feeds your soul, too, I'll risk publishing an imperfect image.  Because it's a wonderful reminder that NONE of us have to be perfect.  Sometimes what appeals to us is not perfection but energy -- the kind of warm, positive, chaotic, joyful energy this picture captures.  It may not be tidy, but it really is just full of joy. 

And really -- on a cloudy day, what more could you wish for?