Weekend 305.1

“St. Francis de Sales one day was looking at a rose, and he put his hands to his ears and he said to the rose, ‘Stop shouting.’ There is a power in the love of God. Most people today look at a rose and they don’t see anything; only a name, a color, a fragrance. But these great saints saw God in everything.” — Mother Angelica

“It would even now be hard to follow on the map this maze of byroads which we threaded, winding between the hawthorne hedges or gliding beneath the over-arching branches of ancient elms; passing snug farmhouses and cottages brilliant with rose vines and creepers and fairly embowered in old-fashioned flowers; and leading through villages the very embodiment of quiet and repose.” — Thos D. Murphy

Weekend 267.0 (Unfinished Symphonies)

How does a bicycling monk spend his weekend? Started Saturday by biking to mass (need to do this more often) and then to a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new bike/walk route:

(1) Like bikes? Fairfield offers new path to enjoyment: Bicyclists take an inaugural ride on the the new Mill Plain Road bike/walk route after its dedication Saturday morning. (Fairfield Citizen)

After the ribbon cutting ceremony, peddled back to town on the ANT to finish some errands. I also stopped somewhere along the way for a scone (blueberry) and cappuccino.

Spent Saturday evening listening to a lecture at Sacred Heart University:

(2) Sacred Heart University’s Henri Nouwen Lecture on Contemporary Spirituality at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit: Roman Catholic Priest Ronald Rolheiser will discuss “Merton, Solitude and Difficulties in Being Present to the Now.”

His lecture was the keynote address at The Thirteenth General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society.

(2a) Are You An IDIOT? (Fast Company)

(3) Excited to start a series of 12 books by 12 different authors (each in 15,000 words) celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Tube.

From the ‘Son of a Florist’ files…

(4a) An Artful Arrangement: Floral designer Lindsey Taylor translates a sculpture by the late Ken Price into the language of roses (WSJ)

(4b) Flower Power: Newly restored and reproduced, “The Green Florilegium” shows off the work of 17th-century flower painter Hans Simon Hotzbecker (WSJ)

(5) Le Corbusier’s One-Room Wonder: A tiny summer getaway by the architectural legend proves less can be so much more (WSJ)

Weekend 237.0 (Son of a Florist)

Greenwich Park Rose GardenSpent Saturday at Greenwich Park and snapped this little ditty in the Rose Garden. The park (and the area around it) is fantastic and after a little sleep I will post some more photos and a bevy of links.

In the meantime…did you know there is a rose called an Ingrid Bergman?

Also, the Chapel (dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul) at the Old Royal Naval College was the highlight of Saturday’s adventure.