so i am throwing away the remains of an enormous 80th birthday bouquet my mother gifted to me prior to her two-week vacation in florida. i think to myself  “i like these spent stems. i think i’ll use them for still blog today.” then my twelve year old son wanders by and says “mom, it’s spring outside. why are you taking a winter photo?” and i panic. he’s right. spring happens so fast at this latitude. in one more week it will look and feel like summer already. and all those delicate new-growth colors–those colors that are expressing themselves right now, as we speak–will have turned into the monochromatic grass green of summer. i know i can’t even begin to capture it all. why am i squandering an entire spring day’s STILL blog shoot with dying cut flowers? joe is absolutely right. he is such a wise and perceptive kid. i should probably acknowledge this. i turn to him. and i say, joe: ‘go outside and play.’

remnants of my mother’s 80th birthday bouquet