Falling Leaves

It was a bit of a quiet Sunday with none of the usual running about here and there.  Having taken a fancy to tea drinking recently, my attention was diverted (as it often is) from the book I was browsing through toward the transparent teapot in which was brewing some afternoon amusement.  I had the pleasure to quickly forget about the book and turn my attention to the leaves as they floated and fell, while the color transformed into a lush and dark amber.

The leaves as they fall.

And as they continue to fall.

While sipping the tea, my mind brought me back to the new exhibition of Chinese treasures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City which I popped into for a quick gander the other afternoon.  With works donated from the Palace Museum, it was the usual mixture of quite ornate (read: gaudy) items done with no expense spared.  But, as is usually the case, there are one or two things which stand out.   In particular, I thought of the tea bowl set which was not so much spectacular as reflecting my current interest, and thought more so of the Scholar's Rock from the Garden which I thought would be more than delightful to admire and get lost in while sipping some delicate tea.  For, if an Emperor is not idle, who is?

Sometimes, to enjoy tea on one's own is not so bad at all.

Far and away from the Garden but still worth contemplating over.