I’m grateful that the little cherry tree is doing so well in its second year, filling up with blossoms like a grownup tree. This was taken early in the week. (Where’s Wren?) And grateful that the tulips are opening all over the yarden. Though I’m a little disappointed to realize, as I’ve noticed over time, that tulips don’t actually do much for native pollinators. So I’m not going to buy any more, but I will nurture these that grow here now. Next fall maybe I’ll look into native bulbs that might actually nourish our regional bees.

It’s been a joy to plant the little perennials I bought last week, in a couple of south-facing borders, and in some patio pots. This creeping hummingbird mint will grow low and spread, and should be more successful in this climate than the various others I’ve tried over the years, which just don’t tolerate our cold winters.

More of the native wildflowers are blooming in the woods this week.

Here’s the cherry tree today, with a little bit of iPhone “cleanup” to remove the distraction of the stabilizing posts and cords. If you don’t look too closely you hardly know it’s been altered.

It’s hard to capture the full effect since the tree is so small, but it’s magical to see in real life, its delicate blossoms like sunlit lace, and tiny native bees darting among them. And I’m grateful for my little kitchen light stand with succulents, and bonsai rosemary, lavender, geranium, and bitter orange, with a sprig of lilac in an ancestral bud vase. I’m grateful for flowers.

And I’m grateful for some contributions from friends after my post about the wild cost of war, including this from the NYT which should be available without a paywall: A ‘Silent Victim’: How Nature Becomes a Casualty of War; and this incredible video of an Iranian spider-tailed horned viper, unique among snakes with its astonishing adaptation to lure prey. Virginia shared the photo below of 168 Pairs of Shoes in their current rainbow configuration at the Grand Mesa Arts and Events Center in Cedaredge.

It hurt to hear from my dear accountant that I need to pay the feds something by next Wednesday, but fortunately not a lot. At least I can share my displeasure later by participating in May Day Strong, “Workers Over Billionaires,” by not working, not spending, and joining in some kind of resistance action. You’re all invited to the party!