PHOTOGRAPHY

First Bloom of Spring

Early blooms delight

When my parents sold the house that I grew up in and moved from the village where mom lived for 80 years, my dad planted a rose bush for her at their new home. It was a small rosebush, tucked away in a corner of the front garden, hidden by hedges. Nothing fancy, but he hoped that it would grow.

Fate decided that he would only get to enjoy the rose, and the house, for three years more. His death was sudden — his health was in decline, but it didn’t appear life-threatening. But his heart let him down, and on the day we were bringing him home on a day-pass from the hospital for a family celebration, he passed away in his chair after getting dressed.

For the first few years after his passing, the rose grew a little per year. It flowered yearly and was pretty to look at. However, last year, it decided to take it off. It has doubled in size both years, and now we have to determine how we want to support it since it has grown so tall and so vast. It looks like we’ll simply use some stakes this year, but plan for a rose trellis next.

The year, the first bloom has come out early, and many more appear to be beginning. A beautiful legacy for a man much missed.

Paul Mansfield is a writer, a photographer, a guitar player, a philosopher — some he does well, some not so well, but he still tries them all.

You can follow him on Twitter @pmansfield.

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