Rainy days

And thus it seems that the month of April will continue to amaze us as it takes us further down into rivers of rain. I have been collecting thoughts; getting sprinkled down from heaven as I go about the garden pulling out weeds and desperately trying to save my roses from whatever diseases come with rain and dwell in precious supple young leaves.

Regardless all this rain, however, I have still been able to go out for my daily jogs as much as I can. Ruby comes by every morning, and whenever I don’t feel too enthusiastic about going out, she would encourage me to do so with her precious little face and playful disposition. I don’t know who Ruby’s owners are, nor do I know what her real name may be, so ‘Ruby’ it is whenever she’s with me. ‘Ruby’, because of the lovely deep coppery-red glimmer in her fur…

Some people in our neighborhood let their pets roam freely around here, and sometimes two more dogs would join in… a mellow, big yellow Labrador Retriever and his leader companion, a grumpy little thing of a Schnauzer mix-- always barking at me as we all go up and down hilly roads.

My body and mind are changing and I’m suffering through all kinds of menopause symptoms lately—hanging in there, like precious raindrops nesting on the round cups of Sedum leaves.

Hostas are appearing everywhere in the shady garden too...  

Hostas make me happy... 

I love their smooth, large leaves and variegated colors, and I love that they’re so easy to divide and get established...

The purple globes blooms of the ornamental alliums are starting to appear too. What a lovely welcome they are in my perennial gardens. And the best part—they multiply naturally, and can be left untouched in the same area for years.

I’ve been enjoying some untamed delightfulness from around the wild garden lately...

Making lovely little bouquets that I would place here and there as I please...

Wildflowers are such amazing little things… such deep colors they have, and they can certainly last longer than most cultivars.

If they would only stay put in their rampant nature and grow in assigned places only... but then again they would not be called 'wildflowers' and won't be as exuberant and free and lovely as they are.

One day back in January this year, out of the blue I felt this strange urgency to save all my computer files outside my computer. Little did I know then that soon after that my computer was to be hacked and I was to lose every file I had there. How fortunate and blessed I am to have followed this importunateness. As it happened, I was lucky to save part of the book I have been writing for the last year. But all that work of February and March have been permanently lost forever. I’ve been struggling with my need to retake the task of writing and rewriting what I lost, or just simply forget about it for good, as I don’t feel too willingly to go over what took me two months of my life to do… not for now anyways. So I suppose this project will have to wait for now or for ever. How is one to conquer discouragement? I know... I know it too well... I should offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise to God, for it could have certainly been so much worse.