Wisteria Lane

It's raining today, quite chilly and very high humidity making it rather unpleasant in the house. But that's just another day in a continual string of NOW moments, and before I know it the sun will be shining, the air will be fresh, dry and warm, and I'll be out there on my bike again soaking up the mountain energy, smelling the aroma of green...

Speaking of which...

The other day when I went on my ride up, along, and over the mountains behind my house I took a picture of the "fujii" or wisteria. I love seeing these vines strangling trees in their glory! The fragrance of the ones I passed on my ride actually stopped me (I was going downhill). I turned around, rode back and sat there with my face buried in their flowers for a good few minutes... lost in the flowergasm of life!

Murasaki Shikibu, considered one of the greatest writers of Japanese literature (c. 973–c. 1014 or 1025c.) wrote three famous works in her lifetime. The wisteria are prominant in many of her stories and when you see them and immerse yourself in them, you know why.

Let me tell you what Wikipedia says about wisteria, and if you are geeky enough you can visit there and check it out for even more info:

Wisteria is a genus of about ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and the East Asian states of China, Korea, and Japan.

Wisteria vines climb by twining their stems either clockwise or counter-clockwise round any available support. They can climb as high as 20 m (20yards) above ground and spread out 10 m (10y) laterally. The world's largest known Wisteria vine is located in Sierra Madre, California, measuring more than an acre in size and weighing 250 tons.

The leaves are alternate, 15 to 35 cm (divide by 2.5 for inches) long, pinnate, with 9 to 19 leaflets. The flowers are produced in pendulous racemes 10 to 80 cm long, similar to those of the genus Laburnum, but are purple, violet, pink or white, not yellow. Flowering is in the spring (just before or as the leaves open) in some Asian species, and in mid to late summer in the American species and W. japonica. The flowers of some species are fragrant, most notably Chinese Wisteria. The seeds are produced in pods similar to those of laburnum, and, like that genus, are poisonous.

Wisteria is an extremely popular ornament in China and Japan.

I love these little snippets of life and love that I come upon quite by chance while enjoying life, love and breath in my mountains.

Ahhhh... you gotta love The Goddess!

I love you.

Cam