Bird of Paradise

I got this shot when I was walking around the yard to get a cobweb-free shot of the bench from yesterday. The bird of paradise plants in my parents yard are always so interesting because if you looked at them from a distance, you'd never see this one flower. Most of the flowers on this particular plant (and the others as well) are in the last stages of their life, so they aren't particularly beautiful in the traditional sense.

Thinking about them while postings got me thinking about how these plants in my parents' yard really represent the cycle of life. On one bird of paradise plant you have the older blooms that are starting to turn brown and die, the fresh, young blooming flowers like this one, and even more that are just waiting to bloom but aren't quite ready yet.

I'm really glad I found this one particular flower today!