Pumpkins, Peonies and Prairie Smoke

Peter's Puzzle Heart
May 27, 1964 - March 10, 1996

Peter was knocking me on the head for days but I was slow to catch on. 


I should have felt his presence in a week filled with pumpkins, peonies and prairie smoke but somewhere between the yard and the computer, I was sidetracked by things that didn't matter as much as remembering the birthday of someone I love still. Peter wouldn't have forgotten. He sent cards for birthdays, anniversaries and mostly for no reason at all but to say hello and let us know how he was doing. I should have remembered Peter's 46th birthday on May 27, but it slipped my mind until today when Jeff mentioned seeing a red cardinal in the yard and thinking of his brother. 


Peter was a landscape designer by heart and trade, a self-taught architect of the earth who poured his emotions into his creations. I had several chances to remember Peter this week.


I should have remembered Peter when the first pumpkin seeds sprouted in pots of dirt out back or when a large and lovely bouquet of white, pink and crimson peonies filled the room with the sweet fragrance of springtime. I should have laughed out loud and thought about Peter when I looked up prairie smoke, the peculiar plant we saw at Lurie Garden that resembles a pink troll doll with a head of wild wispy hair. Ever a California boy, he would have laughed too and planted the native Illinois wildflower on his San Francisco rooftop.