Various stages of decomposition. The nasturtiums are alive in the shadow of the tree. The rest, which were so thick you could not see the ground, are dead or dying.

The geraniums have also begun to go. The leaves are healthy, but the flowers are not long for this world.

And the daisies, which also have healthy leaves, are almost entirely gone. None of us lasts forever, no matter how much we focus on infinity. No matter how much we pray. No matter how much we ignore the truth. The key is that each generation has its cycle, and each cycle leaves its plan for future generations in the form of seed. We do exactly the same. We would like for everything to be bright and youthful, and it is, but not forever. Forever means time after time, here and gone, and then here again. Everything has its time, and everything has its purpose, including us. So much easier to figure this out with flowers than with people, whom we imagine will last forever, and when they don’t, it’s a tragedy.