On Tuesday we travelled up north – in a bus made for people half our size – to see the spring flowers.  A sign of new beginnings, they awakened our hope for new beginnings.  Despite the discomfort, the long journey, the hunger and thirst, we were inspired.

Today we went to the neighborhood nature preserve.  And there were all the flowers we could wish for – a short walk away. 

We’ve even got narcissus sprouting in our window box.

There is something about this country that is always renewing itself.  Every time I read Melville or Twain or any of the writers who wrote about this land and the desolation they encountered I look around me with appreciation and wonder.