Austin City Limits.

No, not ACL.  Even though, I do love ACL so very much and will be posting much about that as it approaches, I assure you.  But the Austin city limits that I am referring to are the actual Austin city limits...And here's why.

I recently took a trip out to California with my good friend, Vonne.  And somewhere between driving up and down the coast to see Big Sur and eating our way through the streets of San Fran, I started to notice the "weeds" on the side of the road.  But these weren't actually weeds to the average (normal) human being... They were calla lilies.  Now here's the thing, I make it no secret that I'm not a big fan of calla lilies.  I think they have become too "popular," and you know how I feel about doing things like everybody else.  But to see them growing on the side of the road, so effortlessly, so nonchalant, I couldn't help but marvel.   Do you know the lengths that some people have to go to get these flowers?  Lots.  And yet there they were, in copious amounts.

But it wasn't until I went to the farmer's market one morning that I truly started to get the point.  There in the sea of organic artichokes and home grown carrots were tents containing buckets upon buckets of some of the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen.  Ranunculus in every color imaginable, sweet peas in the deepest, most gorgeous shade of eggplant (Have you ever seen eggplant colored sweet peas??  No, I didn't think so!).   But the real shock value of the deal was that the growers were practically giving them away!  It was then that I started to realize that the flowers that we pay big bucks to have shipped to us are common place and disregarded by the people who see them everyday.  This was shocking... and rather jealousy provoking, I must say!  And if it would have been possible for me to get them home alive, I would have left behind all of my clothes and carried as many of them as I possibly could back in my duffle bag, trust you and me...

But, alas, I couldn't.  So instead, as I sat there on our flight home, with my luggage intact, I began to ponder...  Is it possible that I take our very own "novelty" flowers for granted?  Are the weeds growing along my street worth a second glance?  And so I was inspired.  It is now my goal to make a series composed solely of the flowers I can find walking the Austin City Limits.  This shall be my weekend project.  I'll report back on Monday...