Well, not really on bended knee; just a short while before my knee wouldn’t bend. It sounded like a catchy title, so, here you have it. I blame it on the pain medication.
We often stop in the Ginkgo Restaurant and Cafe at the Morton Arboretum for a cup of coffee or chocolate, sometimes breakfast or lunch, depending on what’s on the docket for the day, and we’ll sit at one of the tables, looking out the long expanse of windows that afford a view of Meadow Lake, with its mile or so walking path.
In summer, there are baby strollers – and those who stroll – taking the footpath around the lake, looking for sunning turtles and enjoying the lush colors of the season as the prairie plants reach a crescendo.
In spring, grackles may be nesting. They dive-bomb those walking along the path, especially those wearing red. I always want to jump up at shout “take cover” and bang on the windows, warning walkers of eminent attacks. I don’t, of course, and the birds are just warning passers-by.
In fall, there are the magnificent colors that remind me of why we must suffer the cold of winter, in a “to every season” sort of way. The Morton is ablaze in the brilliance of nature come fall, and the cafe is just the place to stop and catch one’s breath.
In winter, there is a coating of snow and a sheet of ice on Meadow Lake. Whiteness and quiet and the hush-a-bye beauty of snow in its more peaceful mood lend a perfect hand to reflect on through the windows.
On Sunday, with a pocket of time in our schedule, an unplanned moment, we decided to drive out to the Arboretum after church. I needed to be home by noon in order to meet up with a friend to see her young granddaughter’s art in an exhibit. As we drove through the Piney Woods, all dusted in snow with the ascending trunks reaching toward heaven, it felt like a cathedral. My unsung prayers drifted upward as we slowly drove about.
You know the rest of the story, from my previous post, so, I won’t repeat it here. I am relieved to say that my knee seems to be healing, I’ve made progress in mastering the cane, and am hoping to slowly resume activities and begin to look to what more I made need to do. All that knee jerking activity is what it is and what will be will be. Thank you all for you kind words, thoughts, and prayers.
Before I turned on a dime (so to speak), while enjoying refreshments in the Cafe, the world outside seemed to glow in possibilities, large and small. The lake before us, just outside the glass. A couple, one with cane and the other helping him along, slowly made their way around. A premonition?
Between the lake, the glass, and me, was the back of a chair with the signature cutout of a ginkgo leaf, just waiting for me to gaze through it, to share a different view of the world.
Does the Morton have a Ginkgo tree? They’re incredible. I was thinking about you yesterday, because the peppermint peach trees ought to be blooming any day now. That knee deserves a few pictures. 🙂 I’m glad you’re mastering the cane, but I’m praying it’s only temporary.
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Yes, it does have a ginkgo, Andra. They are incredible and we have a sapling in our yard that is slowly growing. I would love to see that peppermint peach tree. It sounds heavenly. I’m moving much better and can put some pressure on the knee. Keeping fingers crossed on that temporary status. 🙂
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I’m happy to read in this post that you’re on the mend! Great photos and you make me long for the Arboretum I’ve been neglecting this winter! 🙂
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Thank you, Janet. I’m sure you will make up for winter once the weather breaks and off you go for a walk, something warm, and maybe a hug with the cork tree. 🙂
Sun’s out this morning.
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I know I have said this many times, Penny, but you exhibit such a peaceful co-existence with really harsh winter weather. You find the beauty and celebrate it in a way that I admire because I am in awe of your resilience, but I also see the gardener in you that respects the seasons and so accepts that winter, even blizzard cold, is part of nature’s cycle. I think I’d really like to visit the Morton some day and I know I’d enjoy the Ginkgo Cafe. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself before the “big event,” and it’s wonderful to hear that you’re improving! Strengthen up before the big thaw! I know you’re going to be eager to get into that garden just as soon as possible. 🙂
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Oh, Debra, thank you. I think we all adapt to our climates, especially if we’ve lived in them all our lives, but, I do appreciate your words. Gardening really helps one tolerate the cold season, for we know that the garden rests and what is waiting when the spring warmth comes.
I would love you to visit and go to the Morton. Still time to fly eastward. I’ll share Andra and we could all go hug a tree. 🙂
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That’s a beautiful description of the four seasons Penny. Your post reminds me of what Dame Edith Sitwell said about falling: don’t be in a hurry to get up. This gives you a chance to see the world from a different angle. (Quote might not be exact, but it’s in the ‘Falling’ section of my book ‘Spirited Ageing’). And so you see the world through a ginkgo leaf – delightful.
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That is a beautiful quote, Juliet, and I really do need to remember it Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I love the ginkgo tree, and the leaf is a symbol of the Morton. These cutouts in the chair backs are a bit of inspiration to me. I have seen libraries use elm and oak leaves. Just a little window to the world in a different way.
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You turned what could have been a sour look at life into a lovely tribute to the Morton. That’s what makes you special.
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How nice of you to say that, Marilyn. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You made my evening.
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I too am glad you shared your good thoughts of this place … It sounds lovely. The ginkgo cutout picture is a lovely illustration for your thought.
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Oh, it truly is a lovely spot, Sallie. I love the Morton Arboretum, no matter the season. I just love these cutouts. A library nearby uses a different leaf, but, it is so nice as well. Have a good weekend.
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Grackles are the worst! So ill mannered and mean to my other birds. I’m glad your knee is healing, I know you are ready to get out and enjoy the longer days. Still lots of snow and cold here.
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They can be real bullies, can’t they? We’ve seen their population grow here lately. Knee is healing, days are longer, now if it would only warm up. We’ve snow predictions as well. Hope you warm up soon – and send some here. 🙂
Have a really good weekend.
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I was at the Morton Arboretum yesterday and wondered why I don’t go there more often. There is something about it that provides sanctuary to me. I am pretty sure I saw that same couple in your picture. It was 10 degrees with the wind chill, and I admired them for being there as it was obviously an effort for them,
I wish you healing and relief from knee pain.
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How interesting that you observed the couple walking, Susan. They may go to the Morton Arboretum for their walks frequently. That is such a nice, easy path, with plenty of benches around it, and it looked like they were well bundled up.
We gave up our memberships to most of the institutions we belonged to, but, have kept up this one, justifying the purchase with “If we go once each season, it pays for itself”. Ha! I’m there almost every week.
Thank you. I’m doing remarkably well right now. Hope it continues.
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So glad to hear your knee is starting to improve, Penny. If I ever manage to make that world tour and call in on the Cutoff, I shall insist on being taken to Morton Arboretum. 😉 I feel I know it intimately already from your lovely posts.
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That will be my absolute pleasure, Perpetua. 🙂
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