Books and Blooms

Across the United States today, folks are flocking to their local bookstores to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day. I wanted to be among the early birds at Village Books, and wanted more Fitbit steps than I've managed since returning from North Carolina, so I built in time for a walk before the store opened.

Strolling along the shady side of Harris Avenue, I spotted this dowager deep purple tulip admiring itself in a store window, and couldn't resist giving it a little boost from my favorite in-camera app. 

Further along, near the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, and now in the sunshine, I spotted the beautiful blue flowers of Common Camas (Camassia quamash), a member of the asparagus family native to the United States and Canada. Many native peoples in the western U.S. and Canada used the bulbs for food. (I've added an extra photo of the lovely plant I saw today.)

To celebrate Independent Bookstore Day, I bought two anthologies of poems by Wendell Berry, whose work I've loved for years. A week ago today, I was at the Lanier Library Poetry Festival with my cousin L, reveling in hearing poets read their works, which revived my love of that form of literature. I'm going to make time to read poems out loud to myself, remembering how much I enjoyed hearing them read by the poets at the festival.