Drive Safely

Dashboard saints are not as popular as they once were. Some people still hold fast to the tradition. Looking through the window at this gathering of protectors and benefactors, I was struck by the almost religious aura bestowed by the noonday sun coming through the windshield. I know the owner of this van and am convinced that these little plastic beings have somehow imparted some measure of happiness and wellbeing into her life.

Azalea Stairway

Azaleas are not my favorite flowering shrub. I am especially perplexed by those who snip and style them into what ends up looking like giant jelly beans or gumballs. This hillside of azaleas won me over, with their more natural shapes and jumble of colors flashing in the dappled light of the just-budding trees. Together with the stairs, they form a perfect picture of a perfect moment in spring.

Lunch With the Ducks

As soon as this guy sat down, a pair of mallards hurried over. They stood expectantly as he unwrapped his sandwich. I assume that this is a regular thing. How did it get started? How long did it take before Mr and Mrs. Mallard learned that he could be counted on to share his midday meal? Does he eat his lunch here every day? Do they ever refuse what they are offered, preferring white to whole wheat or disdaining mustard as opposed to mayonnaise? So many questions, all unanswered.

Mixed Violets

In May, an empty plot of land next to my elementary school would become a field of violets for a short while. I would spend the entire lunch hour gathering them, so many that my little hands could barely wrap around the bundle of fragile stems, the blossoms mounding up in a surfeit of purpleness. Last  week, my neighbor's back yard was visited by a drift of white violets, sprinkled here and there with their purple cousins. I kneeled in this fairyland with her little daughter and we marveled at their delicate markings as we filled tiny vases. I hope she will remember this magical afternoon and always welcome some violets in her lawn.