Fawning Over Flora

These startling passion flowers are growing in profusion on a pergola that shades the walkway leading to our public library. I've passed them a thousand times, and even stopped to admire, but never thought to take a picture. The blossoms don't last long, but they're spectacular.

Les Eaux de Mars

The abundant waters of March have brought our seasonal levels back into a respectably healthy zone and the rainy days, alternating with warm sunny ones, have provided a profusion of flowers everywhere. The single tiny plum blossom I posted a photo of recently now has thousands of companions.


Seeing all the rain in March reminded me of a wonderful lilting song that became one of my favorites while living in France, Les Eaux de Mars, sung here in French by Georges Moustaki (click the "preview" button on this MP3 download to hear a snippet). Perhaps you know it in the original Portugese version, Águas de Março by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The song is beautiful in any language -- captivating, just like raindrops swelling on tree branches.

Think Spring

This tiny plum blossom caught me off guard -- a harbinger of Spring, despite the fact that the season is officially still a month away. It crept through the rails of the side porch, reaching for the sun and crying "Look at me!" in its whispering wabi-sabi way. It's refreshing to be brought back into focus by an unassuming, imperfect flower. To everything there is a season, and I'm willing to wait: just the promise of the fruit this budding tree will yield is enough to make me positively giddy.