Trilliums are Here!

I found my Trillium erectum plants (red trilliums) suddenly budding and unfurling amid the leaf litter of my flower beds. I'd been looking out for them for days, and suddenly, there they were, a few days ago now (April 13).

I also have a magnificent patch of Trillium maculatum (spotted trillium), or oh dear! is it Trillium luteum (yellow trillium)? Nevertheless, it stuns every year. The leaves are beautifully speckled and patterned, both above and below:

Since then, I've learned that what I've been referring to as leaves, are not true leaves, and are regarded as flower bracts by botanist fundis, even though they have the ability to photosynthesize - who knew?

So, I can't wait for the rest of the bedazzling flowers to open ...

Crocheting Time-Out

This us why I give up on shaped, hand created items ... the cardigan I crocheted just doesn't hang right, and I couldn't really tell until I was assembling it. Ugh. This is why I don't enjoy making my own clothing: it never seems to fit as it should. I can't bring myself to get back to it to fix it - YET. It'll need a severe pulling out, but until then, it's been discarded in this spot for at least 10 days now, in timeout!

Punishment corner ...

Spring's Rollercoaster

                             

Skies grey or stunning blue, cloudless,

Incessant phoebe trilling lulls, like cicadas.

Deer poop and prints. 

Eagles fish.

Peepers, yeah.

A film of snow, flurries blow

Crows warble their cawing, burbling like water in their throats -

When will the loons come? 

Unseen barred owls call ...

Chipmunks scurry, then 'chuck' from their shelters

Maple blooms float, milfoil fragments 

Green-hued water, reflections

Skunk cabbages
Turkey vultures show off their flying skills

Marsh marigolds

Wood ducks, muskrats

Warmth, rainshowers

Wasps hover

Pollen breezes -

Ticks crawl, tickle

The slumbering world has woken fully

A wondrous unfurling.

 

 

A Little Lapse

What a silly numbskull I am! I paid for my groceries in the store at the checkout, and walked away without my purchases. I only realized what a dithering nincompoop I'd been until I drove into my carport, 20 minutes later, with no groceries to carry inside.

I guess I don't know how in-person grocery shopping works any more! I've got used to the convenience of ordering online and having someone load it into the back of my car for me.

What actually transpired to precipitate walking out without my groceries, was that after paying, I asked the cashier if they carried our community newspaper, The Reporter. She pointed to a set of shelves beyond the checkout area, and to one near the pharmacy. So I headed off to check the shelves (in vain) at each location, then left the store, without thinking to return to the checkout for my fruits and vegetables!

If you know me at all, you will remember that I usually try to minimize trips by car for items on a whim (and particularly during COVID), and only drop into the store for essentials if I'm already out on another errand. This was one such occasion - I'd had a dental checkup just across the street from the grocery store, where avocados and strawberries were on special for the week. I decided I should capitalize on such an aligning of the stars. Ha! I ended up having to make 2 trips to the store instead - I might just as well have gone on a separate day, when I felt like it!

And as for Kahlil Gibran's crazy-ass wisdom, that claims “Forgetfulness is a form of freedom," I'd like to know what he was on ... ? Sounds like a euphemism for explaining dementia politely.

As we reflected on what I affectionately call 'my little lapse' over lunch, my forgetfulness generated a lot of mirth, and had us laughing for a long time afterwards, so perhaps Shakespeare had a better take on it when Gratiano says, "With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come." (Merchant of Venice). The laughter my lapse caused was well worth the experience! 😀 Laughter helps us live longer so we can get old wrinkles!