Ah, the big day is coming, at last! After months of anticipation, the long-awaited first day of spring is just around the corner. Everywhere I look I see signs that mother is preparing for a good year. The Full Worm Moon she turned on the other night was breath-taking, to say the least. Now, the earth begins to warm and soften, allowing worms to move readily. Thus, the name. Birds begin to return, as the wiggly, crawlies work their ways to the surface. Life cycles in action! Isn’t is wonderful?

The bottle brush tree in the garden is just popping out fiery-red ‘brushes’, while the azaleas regurgitate their pinkness. Everywhere I look, the shocking pink of this evergreen Rhododendron is almost overwhelming, as it in season with blooms right now. All the pink is most striking!

With the promise of a prosperous season, I, too, look forward to my own personal growth. I like to think I am conquering Photoshop, little-by-little, as a means of expressing this new awareness of myself. I think it interesting that my computer, where I spend a good deal of time, with all the metallic, plasticine, technical hoopla, is about as far removed from mother nature as one can get, yet, therein lie my interests. My purpose in having a PC is to explore, and celebrate, my relationship with good ol’ mom.

Here is one of my own azaleas, tweeked with Photoshop’s saturation feature, to give three different-looking flowers. I realize there is nothing spectacular about this image and process. But, for me, for whatever reason, observing the flora, capturing an image of it and ‘playing’ with that image, is nothing short of spiritual.

Spring isn’t quite here, but, I can’t wait for her official entrance. Now, how shall I celebrate her arrival?