When we returned from Washington DC we knew

we were probably leaving blooming roses and trickling

fountains, so this was no surprise.

However it did rain the last two days in DC and

the tamaracks have never looked lovelier.

"Why should you think that beauty lies

Only under distant skies:

When maples softly sway and bend

And robins greet you as a  friend,

Why should you long for palms, or sigh

To see strange rivers slipping by:

You, for whom meadow brooks run clear,

And little paths are known and dear?

Why should you think the moon may be

More golden over some far sea:

And where will you find hills to roam

As lovely as the hills of home?

What can earth give you, near or far,

But wind and sea and dawn and star;

With all of these beside your door

Why should you cross the world for more?"

                                          For Beauty Near

                                              Floris Clark McLean