Orlando and I had a little jaunt around Stow Lake today. We always take the inside track around the island. There are more squirrels there, and a dirt trail rather than the sidewalk. It makes it feel a bit more like we are in nature. The trail takes you over the meditation stones at the base of the waterfall and through the pavillion, a gift from China to it's "sister" city. It is a lovely little walk. One of the best parts of the seasons changing was the bloom of the Calla Lilies. They had taken over an entire hillside on the south side of the island, and they were gorgeous. Standing about shoulder tall to me, the impressive army of lilies blanketed the island with a field of white. They must have really looked like an army to someone because several months ago now someone ripped all the plants right out of the ground. In their place was some rudimentary landscaping, a trail fork to lead you up the hill and some brush plants. I decided to give it all a chance, maybe it too would grow in to be impressive, maybe there was some larger picture that I didn't know enough about. But today the small plants have grown in are in full bloom and are depressingly scraggily and even as a team of new plant life leave you feeling blue and unimpressed.
I have no idea what caused the massacre of the beautiful calla lilies that once roamed free on Strawberry Hill. I miss them every time we decide to visit Stow Lake. The end result certainly does not justify the brutality or absence of the beautiful plants.