Spring?

The first day of Spring was on Thursday.  Naturally, we had a little ice storm that evening!  It has been below freezing overnights the last few days, although some sun during the day.  I should be planting lettuce, peas, mustard greens and the like outside, but before this freezing weather it rained steadily whenever I had time.  So, the whole garden is getting a later start than I thought.

Here's a sign of spring from our yard!  A flowering cherry tree planted some 25 years ago.  It was sunny earlier, with birds all around this tree, but by the time I thought to snap a picture the clouds had rolled in.

This late spring has certainly mirrored my feelings about Ruth's death. Two weekends in a row rain just poured out of the sky all day, just like the tears flowing at her Celebration of Life ceremony on March 8th.  It was a beautiful ceremony, with many, many people there.  We released balloons into the rainy sky at the end.  She was so loved by so many, and left us far too soon.  Some people have had messages or symbols from her in the afterlife. 

I don't know what I believe about the afterlife.  I recently read  Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander, M.D., which describes his experience when he was in a week-long coma and how he came back.  Like all of these stories and books about people who have a near-death experience, there is an overwhelming peace and love on the other side.  It doesn't seem like it is connected to a prior religious experience or any particular belief in God.  At least that's how I interpret it. 

I'm here on earth at the moment, and mostly enjoy every moment.  Here's another Spring moment - some of our Helebores blooming in the front bed.  These are some of my favorite flowers!  They would only be improved if you could eat them.

 And here is our huge, messy Forsythia bush.  It is just like us, kind of messy and free.  This bush has been growing in the front yard for many decades.  It was already growing when my family moved into this house 50 years ago!  We live in an old farmhouse, built in 1920.  I wouldn't be surprised if had been planted way back then.  The nice thing about Forsythias is that all of them are messy and exuberant like this, and there is no way to prune them.  I like a plant that insists on being free and does not respond to human direction.

Here's a link to a picture of the balloons released for Ruth.  I couldn't figure out how to get the picture itself posted on this blog. 

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