And it's suddenly late spring

 Some more blossoms around my apartment. Happy EARTH DAY!

As of Thursday, April 16 we still had some azaleas blooming.

I climbed down two flights of stairs to capture a few photos of the lilies of the valley.

Behind the big maple tree is where my balcony sits, over the entrance to the downstairs apartment. 

White azaleas are past their prime.

The lilies are as well. But what a huge patch of them! This is the biggest I've seen it.

Another native flame azalea, also butchered by the eager landscape crew in trying to make everything look tidy.

Quilt by Sandra Mollon.

Sharing with Tom's Tuesday Treasures

In the hood

 

At the base of these ancient maples are a wonderful patch of lilies of the valley (the closest group is blooming.) Behind it is a small azalea white azalea bush.

The closer maples haven't fully fluffed with leaves quite yet This is from my balcony on the south facing side of the apartment. 

When I look out my north  facing front door, I can see the balconies (yes very small!) on the next building. My apartment is also on the upper level of my building. A clever design for these steep slopes.

Again from my front door, looking down the walkway between the buildings.

My brain continues to lag - there are two pieces of something I need to put together for breathing treatment...I pick up the wrong one, don't go so far as to try to connect it, but notice that there wasn't any selective thought ahead of the action, and complete it.

It's like the internet Sunday morning. Slow as molasses. Sometimes I select my choices, key in my own desires, and wait about 4-6 seconds to see if it will happen.

For my brain, it's not a matter of too many users, but this one has reverted to maybe 8 years old. Or earlier.

I am enjoying some rather abstract ideas, so I'm not back totally to concrete operational thinking. Like today I realized that God is a metaphor much as we anthropomorphize so many things around us...the animals with names, plants, and in my case, even my car.

But do I trust myself to drive that car?

Maybe later. But I'm quickly running out of toilet tissue. Needs must.

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What if I stopped now? Usually this is where I’d share some wise sayings, or editorial comments. But I can let things go…just watch me!

Monday again

 

Space...the final frontier. Well, at least the moon again!

An excellent read. Slowly. Not something to digest in minutes.

I heard about Tyson Yunkaporta when Starhawk quoted him. 

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

Our human compassion binds us the one to the other — not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future. —Nelson Mandela

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.

HELEN KELLER

This and that...

 

I'm not fond of white flowers. I wonder if they are most popular with northerners who miss snow!

Near Limestone TN

St. Augustine FL (sorry, no date)

Sharing with Sepia Saturday

 and Saturday's Critters

and Floral Friday Fotos

I came home from my week-long trip, and now have shared most of the photos I took, well, a few of probably 500 I took. I have yet to discard any.

I'm breathing a bit better, but the brain is still giving me difficulties (not just short term memory, but long term,) and real difficulty finding words, as well as saying the wrong one. And the finger trembles remain. So my GP gave me a referral for a neurological exam...but they haven't called yet. I continue to be out of breath when walking from apartment to parking lot. So I go very slowly!  I just dropped off a sample of sputum for the pulmonologist to check before he makes any decisions about my care.

Entertaiinment last nighth was Conclave. I'd had it on my list for a while, but it seemed appropriate as a real one will be happening in Rome soon to choose the next leader of the Catholic world. I loved it! with a very different ending than expected, which left me feeling good.

 

Today's quote:

In a world that demands our constant attention and presence, making brain fitness a priority is essential.

Hither and yon

Here are a few more shots from home...where spring was just beginning and then I left!

Looking down the "courtyard" past our pink dogwood to see the white one at the furthest apartments.

The pink dogwood still has some blooms, though many branches are past blossoming.

Early buds on the azaleas outside my kitchen.

YON (Florida):

My daughter-in-law's Moonlit Macarons display in St. Petersburg FL.

MORE YON (say Colorado)

View outside front windows of my youngest son's home in Cortez, looking towards the back side of Mesa Verde

I asked for blueberry pancakes, and my son fixed these fluffy ones...here making notes with is wife on the ingredient list in the cookbook!

They were delicious!

The fabulous kitchebn window looking out the back view of their yard.

Today's quote:

You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now. 

Joan Baez

A last blast of Azaleas

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and all the caregivers of our children. Preschool workers are among the lowest paid people in the American culture. And they take care of our precious children! What a mixed up world we live in.

Though they're brilliant still, those 2 hanging off their stamens tell me these blooms will be on the ground very soon. The next day there were rain showers, which helped them along.

I was trying to catch one of the many bumble bees enjoying the pollen and nectar...

Having a phone call from my youngest for mother's day wishes. His last statement really floored me. He works with lots of high school students, mentoring many of them so they'll go on the college. We talked briefly about his summer schedule. Then he said how he tells his students that he remembers being raised by a single parent (me) and has no idea how I did it. I agreed, I had no idea either. Then we hung up and I cried. It was amazing to have such a loving son through all those trying years...and now he's being a mentor to many other people's children. He didn't want to father children himself, but is making a difference for them.

My kitchen window is above a pretty view, which only my neighbors can see as it's downhill.

I have no idea why these bushes were cut back so drastically. Maybe they'll grow again.

Today's quote:

“Reality is never and nowhere more accessible than in the immediate moment of one’s own life. It’s only there that it can be won or lost.”

Kafka