Sometimes we just need this reminder and today I am putting it here for anyone who needs the comfort and especially for my blogging friend, Ute.

Winnie the Pooh’s wisdom

Just look at this beautiful Chameleon all made of sedums, I think. !

Chameleon, Montreal Botanical Garden.

A friend of a friend wrote this poem which I enjoyed and he gave me permission to share it with you. All these lovely orange things and speaking to us in the first person. I love the humour and the challenge, the alliteration and the positivity. Thanks, Ben.

Orange Appeal

Orange here — the color, not the fruit.
OK, the fruit too.
Plus pumpkins.

I don’t need your applause; I know I’m secondary, favorite of few.
I can take it.
Some say I’m gaudy. I prefer zestful.

Perhaps you take me, my tints, my shades, for granted.
Remember maples in the fall?
Good — don’t forget.

Tiger lily, monarch, flamboyant flash of oriole in flight.
See? I’m a bright treat, upbeat.
Just sayin’.

I could go on. I think I will.
I’m that serotonin-squirting surprise —
A ripe slice of joy, a perfect peach.

I’m the warm harvest moon, rising from the dew.
I’m the sprightly orange spine in a dingy bookcase.
I’m a detour from the mundane.

I’m all of these, and more.
I can guide you through the fog of life.
Not bragging. Much.

I’m secure in my own skin.
No need to march on Tuscany or claim that square in Russia.
But is a red fox red? Let’s be honest.

I’m your smiling jack-o-lantern
I’m your cheery orange bath towel in the dead of winter.
You’ve seen butterfly weed in bloom? Who’s your bud?

Stroboscopic skitter of shorebird legs.
California poppies on a hill.
Get the picture?

And then there’s flame — another coup.
Glowing coals and lava, too.
You’re welcome.

One more thing — sunsets over the bay.
I rest my crate.
I mean case.
​
​​​​​​–– Ben McKelway