Friday Flowers: Year of the (Snap)Dragon

Antirrhinum: Red Snapdragons


Jabberwocky
(By Lewis Carroll)

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought--
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.


Yeah, I'm in a whimsical mood tonight. ;-)

Taking the theme of dragons, I decided to celebrate Lewis Carroll's birth date, born in 1832. It's not my normal type of poetry selection, but Jabberwocky is an interesting change of pace. The occasional dash of literary nonsense is a good thing.

Antirrhinum: Orange Snapdragons

Likewise, the snapdragons earned another Friday Flower appearance as part of the draconic theme. Additionally, I had a whole bunch of photos from a recent trip to the Huntington Gardens that I wanted to share with you all.

Friday Flowers: Here Be Snapdragons

Antirrhinum: Pink Snapdragons


How like a winter hath my absence been (Sonnet 97)
(By William Shakespeare)

How like a winter hath my absence been
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!
What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!
What old December’s bareness every where!
And yet this time remov’d was summer’s time;
The teeming autumn, big with rich increase,
Bearing the wanton burden of the prime,
Like widow’d wombs after their lords’ decease:
Yet this abundant issue seem’d to me
But hope of orphans and unfather’d fruit;
For summer and his pleasures wait on thee,
And, thou away, the very birds are mute:
   Or, if they sing, ’tis with so dull a cheer,
   That leaves look pale, dreading the winter’s near.


Well, when in a rush, you can't go wrong with Shakespeare. ;-)

Antirrhinum: Red Snapdragons


And we start our focus on cold season blooms with the ever lovely antirrhinum, also known as the snapdragon.