Peonies

Daily Gratitude  Year 7-Day 148: Today, I am grateful the peonies are blooming.

Randy and I have sentimental reasons for smiling when the peonies bloom. Our reasons are different. 
Both involve childhood recollections. 

We had peonies by the lilac bush on the farm. Randy's dad accidentally mowed his mom's over most springs. We both smile at the memories and enjoy our own fuschia blooms. The aroma is unique and softly sweet. 

I rarely bring the blooms inside because of the ants. If you soak them upside down in water, the ants flee, but it seems the blooms fade before I get around to getting a bucket out. That brings us back to the ants.

Randy once asked at a lawn and garden center what we could do to get rid of the ants on our peonies. The knowledgeable gardener kindly explained that the ants are key to the peony blooming. The tight peony bud has what looks like a film over the bud. The ant eats it the sweet nectar film and the peonies can open freely to bloom.Science refers to it as a symbiotic relationship. They help each other out. 

Scientists says the peony can, eventually, bloom without the ants, but not as easily. The nectar around the bud, without the ants can become hard and impair blooming. The ants protect the peonies from other pests that might destroy them and help their blooms open freely. The film of nectar is high energy food for the hungry and busy ants. It is a win-win. 

What looks like an injustice - the pesky ants on the beautiful blooms - is nature proclaiming once again that God's ways are mysterious but perfect and mighty. He loves fitting puzzle pieces together. Nature's mysteries echo His majesty when we finally figure them out. 

The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere. -Isaiah 61:11

The peony is another reminder of His majesty. 

Today, I am grateful the peonies are blooming.