The  Lotus plants are in bloom again at one of my favorite Downtown haunts ... Los Angeles's Echo Park.  Echo Park is just to the North and West of Bunker Hill.  In fact, several of the buildings featured in last week's blog can be seen in this next image.

The roots of the lotus are planted in the soil of the pond or river bottom, while the leaves float on top of the water surface or are held well above it. The flowers are usually found on thick stems rising several inches above the leaves. The flower shown below has the typical coloration found in Echo Park.  And, peeking out just below the flower is a bud waiting to burst into bloom:

But occasionally, you'll find a pure white flower:

In Asian cultures, the lotus plant has a special place.  "Most deities of Asian religions are depicted as seated on a lotus flower. In Buddhism, for example, the lotus represents purity of the body, speech, and mind as if floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. According to legend, Buddha was born with the ability to walk, and lotus flowers bloomed everywhere he stepped. In Christianity, the St. Thomas Cross features a lotus underneath the cross,"  and " In Hindu, Vishnu is often described as the 'Lotus-Eyed One'. Its unfolding petals suggest the expansion of the soul."

The flower unfolds its petals in this rough sequence:

Finally, the leaves drop off leaving just the center core standing ... and it turns from yellow into the green depicted at the bottom left side of this image:

Ultimately, the green pod with its seeds will sink back into the mud and the cycle of life begins anew.

Reflections:

I started paying attention to the reflections of the plants and captured a few images that I liked:

Lastly, here's three favorite images from this year's visits:

I've titled this one "Standing Tall."  It is a simple shot ... but its the simplicity that I like:

The light was harsh and I started looking for places where it was less so.  I found a little tunnel created by larger leaves where this blossom was hiding:

And my most favorite (I think?) was this glowing blossom I found in the shade:

I know, I know!  There were a lot of images in the post.  Thanks for staying with me.

As always,

Adam