Cosmos Dreaming

I’m thinking of sugared almonds, the kind you get at weddings. You know the ones; white and pastel pink?  They are traditionally given as wedding favours, in indivisible numbers, representing the unity of the bride and groom. Unless you’re Italian, then the number is 5 (representing; health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and long life).  The bittersweet nuttiness of the almond, hidden beneath its sugar coating; just delightful.

Then into my mind pops one word….. CANDYFLOSS. 🙂

I can see it now, at a market or fun day, a stall lined with bags of sticky sweet pastel coloured candyfloss (always managing to catch the eye of the passing kids) It disappears as you put it in your mouth, like eating sugared air. Hmmm. Yum.

And best of all, the pink and white marshmallows, eaten straight out of the bag, or spiked on a long stick and slowly rotated over an open flame, until golden brown.
Pulling the hot outer layer off, gobbling it down, and putting the stick and what’s left of the marshmallow back over the fire. The point being to see how many outer layers you can create out of one marshmallow.

Aaah! Brings back the sweet and innocent memories of childhood.

You may think I have a sweet tooth (which I do) But there’s reason that these thoughts are surfacing. And that reason is the pastel pink and white Cosmos flowers. (Bidens formosa)
It’s a weed (yes, that’s right)
Seen flowering in March / April, in fields or in dense strands of pink and white, along the roadside.
A charming sight most South Africans are familiar with.

When they are in flower, there’s nothing better than to lie beneath them in a sunny field and watch them gently sway in the breeze. Or to watch the buds unfolding, and the bees stopping by to collect pollen. It’s fascinating.

I am hopelessly addicted to watching and photographing Cosmos. And I don’t know of any cure; but do you see the worry in my eye? 🙂

I am not going to go into further detail about their simple and enchanting beauty; I’ll let the pictures tell you what words cannot aptly describe. Enjoy