Fleas and Roses

Flea markets, fascinating to me as little "cultural museums" displaying what humans have made, valued for some period of time and discarded, are generally some of my favorite places to visit and, when in Paris, Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, commonly known as Les Puces, or, The Fleas, is a must, must, must-see. In general, I like buying antiques or old stuff. I like the idea that we are reusing things that have been cherished, we're not cutting down more of the rainforest, adding plastics or toxins to the environment, nor are we adding so much to the global energy consumption. And it's always interesting to see what kinds of unusual things different cultures have made and used in their homes.

One of my favorite sights on this visit to The Fleas was this delicate climbing rose in shades of pink, white and yellow in the sunlight against a pinkish brick wall.

Although this nearby tapestry of pink roses is beautiful and perhaps inspired by similar roses of long ago, I'm motivated by the real flowers to plant pink climbing roses at the first opportunity. Now to find a pink wall in the sunlight....