This time of year always reminds me of “Miss Rumphius.”
We read “Miss Rumphius” to the girls when they were little, and to ourselves when we wanted. For those who may not know “Miss Rumphius,” you should.
It’s a wonderful book written by the late Barbara Cooney, who, for those who knew her, was every bit a lupine lady. One of my favorite persons to photograph, and even eventually, she was sort of a friend. Her home was magical, and maybe still is. I've not visited in a long time.
Miss Rumphius invites us to dream a little and to travel the world, live in a house by the sea and do something to make the world more beautiful. And what could be more perfect than spreading flowers along the way?
A favorite passage from the book reads, “All that summer Miss Rumphius, her pockets full of seed, wandered over fields and headlands, sowing lupines. She scattered seeds along the highways and down country lanes. She flung handfuls of them around the schoolhouse and back of the church. She tossed them into hollows and along stone walls.”
So, this season, we enjoy our world made more beautiful by the handfuls flung to our village by the sea. Thank you Miss Rumphius and Barbara Cooney, and to all who make our world more beautiful.