We can’t all be superstars.

Because then our superstars would no longer be superstars.

And if our superstars are then no longer superstars, we were never superstars in the first place.  

Simple, right?

I’m a deep guy (as evidenced by my preceding well conceived hypothesis) and I carry that deepness out into the garden. While all of you get all sorts of pumped up for the tulips or daffodils to bloom, I’m on my hands and knees appreciating the more subtle and less valued signs of spring.

Exhibit A – Boxwood ‘Green Mountain’ blooms:    

 
Read any description of a boxwood and in small fine print at the end of the paragraph you’ll find the term “insignificant flowers”. Really? Don’t you think they worked hard to produce those flowers? They are filled with nectar and pollen; so what if the bees aren’t around to find it. That’s their loss.

Exhibit B – Carex (cultivar unknown – damn nursery and their lack of labeling) and it’s brown/tan flowers:  

I cut these back just a week ago and boom, just like that they produced these flowers. Again, their flowers are labeled as “insignificant”. I like them. They’re unique. Sorry they’re not all yellow or red or blue. Brown is a color last time I checked.

Listen, I love big showy flowers as much as the next guy. I geek out on the developing Viburnum blooms like the one below:

Anxiously awaiting for them to transform to this:

But I got love for all flowers and you should too.

Who’s with me?

John

I obviously need to work on my knowledge of lighting and how to adjust the camera settings while not in “Auto” mode, but I still love some of the detail in the two photos above. No more blurry photos for this guy.

We decided to then go on to some additional adventures.

First it was a hunt for pine cones under our pine trees. We scored only four.

Then it was a search for deer in our back woods. No luck.

And finally, it was time to ride the scooter to the end of our street, which is part woods/part construction zone. My daughter went nuts over the large pile of rocks we found and climbed to the top:    

While there, we found a large stone that had “gems” inside (nicely played on my part) which sent her imagination flying:

I soon joined her on top of the rock pile and we hung out for a long time; just dad and daughter:

It was the perfect perch to snap photos of the newly arriving birds, including this Eastern Bluebird (?):

And this Robin:

It was the perfect morning until this dope explained to my daughter that the photo below was either a crudely created sacrificial site by a the local satanists or a fire pit where some local teenagers get drunk each night:

My little joke lead to numerous follow-up questions and I hope I successfully erased the memory from her mind.

It was a fantastic time spent with my little girl and something I need to do more often. These times are precious and fleeting.

John