"Mae's" Hosta

 I've told this story before but I'll repeat it here ...

 Many years ago we had a beautiful hosta plant when we lived in Miamisburg. Mae liked it so much she asked for a start. Then, we ended up moving to Moraine and finally to Farmersville. In the moves, we found we no longer had a hosta.

 Mae, of course, suggested we take a start from hers (ours?). Charlie had planted it on the north side of their garage. It was rather neglected there - Charlie, in fact, didn't even know if it was still there at all. I drove over, found the plant quite luxurious even in its isolation, expanding through the chain-link fence into the neighbor's yard.

 I took a small start and planted it in the northern shade of our garage. That flower bed seemed little capable of growing anything for long. It was mostly still bare soil many years after we moved to Pinehaven. Mom grew a few shade-loving herbs there as the spot was opposite and adjacent to our garden. Parsley seemed to grow well there, at least for short periods of time.

 Over the years, I've divided that plant time and again. I'd pierce the roots with a sharp shovel, get another start planted nearby. Over time I filled in the gaps. This year, for the first time, there are no gaps at all. It is a continuous bed of hosta. And now, late August, they are all blooming in a perfect profusion of purple.

Looking west

 I got to thinking about these flowers, at the height of their blooms on Monday, the same day as Mae's funeral. Who would have thought that they'd have reached their peak at this sad time?
 Instead of "hasta la vista" (Spanish for "See you later") we have a "hosta la vista" which, I think, says the same thing.

Looking east

 For those with an eagle eye, the purple in the foreground isn't hosta at all but Russian sage, in bloom with an identical color and on the same day.
 I'm sure I've been working on this flower bed for at least 15 years. Who could imagine that it would reach its perfect peak on this day? It's a natural tribute to my aunt, built entirely by chance.
 But what is chance and what is predestination? I'm sure, unknown to myself, this was being planned all along.