go. out. side.

tristan often includes adorable pauses between each of his words. daddy. come here. mommy. come here. go. out. side.

and the time has come, i do believe, to spend as much time outside as possible. before the oppressive heat of summer. in between the much needed rains.

raking our yard is a massive chore. we live in a little forest where leaves are plentiful, and, well, we can be a little slack about raking. there were the first rounds of autumn raking. and now the spring rounds. today i concentrated on a woodsy rise in our yard where there is a small circular trail, a bench, lots of periwinkle, azalea and rhododendron bushes. while i piled up the leaves, tristan ran back and forth through a puddle in our driveway. he spent a good 45 minutes loving that puddle.







the daffodils are awakening. birdsong ripples like a garland from each branch. bugs are beginning to creep about. each sign of life a reminder of our fortunate existence.

may every flower that unfolds in our country's springtime represent a family that safely escapes the tragedy in japan.