Peony Explosion

Dear Diary,

No flower expires more dramatically than a peony.  I had one of the last ones on my breakfast table and as I was having coffee...poof!  It just exploded in a shower of petals.  Such a drama queen!  But it gave me a chance to closely look at the petal "pad" and honestly, it was amazing.  The petals looked hardly attached at all!  I'd never looked close up at a peony after it dropped its petals.  One tends to focus on the petals but I found this truly fascinating.  Isn't nature amazing!  I wonder what else I've been missing?  (Sorry for the second close up of my fingers!)