The last Rose of summer

We have been living in our little house for eleven years now. After about a year we planted things in our garden, including two rose bushes. Of course I wanted red and white roses, but, like many other things, that went wrong and now we have a yellow and a white rose bush. These things happen when you trust a "garden designer"... But, the roses are of course not to blame. In fact they do their best to flower every year and are the reason for much happiness in our little household.

This year we sadly did not really have a proper summer. It rained a lot and it was not really hot, which also has the positive side effect that we could sleep at night (our bedroom is situated under the roof, where heat usually gathers). Presently we are settling in for autumn. So far we can't complain. It was mild and often fairly sunny, and the colours outside are very beautiful at times. A few days ago I noticed that the yellow rose bush was actually carrying one blossom. Two days ago it opened and looked quite nice. Today it really opened up and looked so cheerful and actually perfect. As the nights are starting to grow very cold, Thomas cut off the rose and brought it inside so that it can live a little longer. Now our roses never had any kind of scent, but that didn't bother us. I have no idea why, but today Thomas decided to smell at the rose. Without saying anything, he passed it to me and I took a sniff and was amazed! The rose gave off the most painfully beautiful scent...not too weak and not too strong...in other words, just perfect. A mixture of memories, hope, sadness, as well as happiness....it utterly baffled and moved me. It was as though the rose wanted to send me a message...

And for once, the cat had no fitting aria to sing. Maybe the language of cats and roses is a bit too different. But I'm sure she will make up for it just before the crack of dawn tomorrow ;-)