Yellow flags

A return visit to the Green this afternoon, where I took this shot of some of the irises (yellow flags) growing at the edge of Johnston Pond. 

Today I was accompanied by Smithers, despite the fact that he was in considerable pain in his shoulders and neck. We walked very slowly and had plenty of stops, but it still wore him out. 

It seems to me that he has been awarded a yellow flag at this stage of his life, and his penalty is to suffer all this pain. It breaks my heart to see him struggling so much.