Suitcases Dusted Off

With our departure on May 6th just around the corner, I felt compelled to give everyone in the house the illusion, at least, of my organizational and packing skills. The truth is, I am pretty near ready. I only have to charge all the batteries for my camera, pack the tripod and chargers, get the medications from the pharmacy, haul out the shorts, tee shirts and bathing suits, make sure our sneakers and sandals are in good order, pull together the laptop and card reader, make sure my husband's blazer, tie and my dress are clean, decide which earrings are going, remember to put any liquids and creams over a couple of ounces in the checked luggage, decide what goes in the carry on and last but not least, grab the passports and directions to the Wolf Sanctuary. Now, to some people, it may seem like a lot left to do, but the truth is, the suitcase is in the bedroom and every time I think of something that will be needed, I grab it and toss it in. We'll be a week in Tobago, a week in Florida and 4 days at sea. I plan on having quite a few photos of waterfalls, rain forests, sunrises and sets from Tobago. I am really hoping the wolves will cooperate in Naples, FL and all I really care about on the cruise is that my drinks are cold and my food is hot. I will be flexible with everything else. I do expect my yard to be in a much more photogenic condition when I return. For now, I have to be satisfied with another nice image of grape hyacinth.

The Greening Of ..., Well, Everything!

I just had to get out of the house this afternoon. The sun was coming through the windows so strongly, I felt compelled to grab my camera and go take pictures. It was a shock to find out the sunshine was not as strong as it seemed. And the wind was no gentle fan either. Anyway, I started at one corner of my yard and wandered about for a worthwhile subject to "focus" on. Imagine my surprise when I realized the weeds are actually much more advanced in my husband's gardens than any of the spring blossoms he has placed there. Over in one corner of the yard is a healthy patch of dandelion greens, in another a rather large lambs tongue has popped through the surface. The leaves on the wild berry brambles are looking fine and even the Poplar trees are sending off their first seed strands. The slope of weed filled expanse we call a lawn is fairly thick, with all sorts of wild grasses, some of which, you might even consider actual grass. In all of this observation, I found just this, a couple of lonely little grape hyacinths and a rather sparsely blooming forsythia bush which is probably older than my grandson. The grandson is doing better, trust me. No where could I find my beautiful tulips, or the countless daffodils, paper narcissus and lily of the valley. Everywhere I looked, the yard was green and even though all those long winter months I longed for things to be green, now I wish for there to be other colors, lots of brilliant reds, blues, yellows, pinks, and purples. All this proves is two things. We, as humans, are never satisfied and always want more than we have and the last is that we are never happy with just sitting back and living in the moment. I know this because here I am finally ready to sit back and smell the roses and there isn't a single blooming rose out there..... YET!