Peonies

I have been MIA again !   BUT not voluntarily.  Freaky weather was the cause - June thunderstorms were very destructive this year. There were flash floods, hailstones and even cyclones.  Needless to say, we were not spared.  2 weeks ago, dark clouds appeared in the afternoon and within 30 mins. lightning zapped and we had power failure.  What's worse, our phone went dead and no internet connection. That's penalty for contributing to greenhouse effect on global warming.
It took almost 2 weeks to get the whole 'communication system' working again. 

I wanted to post this before the disaster - these peonies are long gone but I caught them at their peak with my camera.  The best time for viewing these beauties and experience their fragrance is between early to mid June. There are astoundingly 1400 varieties of peonies, colours ranging from white, red to yellow. To lengthen the bloom, I cut them and put them in water, in shallow plates and vases after I've shaken off ants and insects/beetles.  The fragrance filled  the house for days.