i have discovered that 

tea bags come in all shapes and sizes.

and what fun that is for me as i continue 

my daily practice.

cherry blossoms have been in bloom

at the local botanic garden.  i missed them 

last year by a week so i put down 

my paint brush, asked a friend to join me

and off we went. 

there is a lovely leg go exhibit throughout the gardens.

i saw this bottlebrush bush and was 

instantly taken back to my grandpa iwataki's

front yard where branches would drape

over the walk way inviting guests to walk

under it as if spreading wings in welcome.

and the california poppies danced in the 

breeze again bringing to mind days when 

they grew wild in the empty fields by

my childhood home.  

i have no idea what this plant is but both

my friend and i thought it looked like 

a pensive woman sitting under a tree. 

the cherry blossoms had already fallen in the recent

storm.  i did not realize that they were so delicate.

but there were still these beauties, though not a cherry

tree, spectacular, none the less. 

draping wisteria like dancers colored

our walk.

a walk, a talk in spectacular surroundings.

i couldn't have asked for a better way to spend 

an afternoon.