The life of the Sacred Lotus flowers

Sacred Lotus, or Nelumbo nucifera, is one of the oldest plants on the earth.

It is said to have adopted water as a habitat about 140-million years ago.

Hokongo-in Temple, of which history starts in 742,
is famous for the lotus flowers in summer.

From the muddy water, Lotuses stretch upward to the sunlight, 
and bloom flowers untainted by the mud.

The flower is ephemeral. Its longevity is only four days.

 Flower bud is very tight and pointy at first .

The first day,

a bud unfurls 3-4 centimeters and then closes maintaining upward pointing bud.

The second day,

the flower bud begins to mature, unfurling into a chalice-like multi-petaled blossom 
with a central head pod.

The third day,

the flower opens to its maximum.

The fourth day,

 the fully opened blossom falls downward, away from the central cupule. 

All the petals drop till noon.

When the petals drop, the central pod enlarges and ripens.

Petals on the verge of falling apart

The leaves are also attractive.
The veins are radiating out from the center to the margins.

The shape  has similar look to the flowers' chalice-like form.
The cylindrical stalks stretching from the bottom of the water high into the air

make aqua forest.

At the Water Garden, there are light, ripples, reflections, shadows, and carps.

Carps look shading themselves from the scorching sun under a water lily pad.

This is a roof-tile displayed in the garden.
The character 卍, swastika, is a symbol of a temple in Japan. 

It is an ancient religious symbol, a sacred and auspicious symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, 

dating back to before the 2nd century BC.

There are so many to see in this temple;

hydrangeas, lilies, mushrooms, and moss...., to name a few.

Though there is no official report of the end of the rainy season,

it has been sizzling, scorching, and sweltering hot.

Today high temperature warning is issued in some regions.

I'll have a summer break in blogging and commenting
after I visit around you.

Wish you a nice, healthy, and fruitful summer.

See you in September.

During the Golden Week in May

Mosaic Monday
Our World Tuesday