Signs of Life

Hello my friends. I have finally returned to this, my little forum of self-expression. I have been absent for far longer than I ever imagined I would be. To those of you who have encouraged me over the past few months to write here again, I would just like to say a heartfelt thank you! I will explain my absence shortly, but first I would like to share with you some recent pictures and proof that Spring has indeed returned to Indiana. :)

First, I have for your viewing pleasure some daffodils that were in full bloom last week. I got a nice little digital camera a few months ago. It is a Canon PowerShot A510 with 3.2 megapixels, for those of you who might be curious. It is not a really high powered model, but it will be more than adequate to my needs, and besides, the price was really right! :)



Next, I have zoomed in on a portion of the previous picture. Just for fun, can you find these flowers in the bigger picture? Well, if you are good at picture puzzles, you should have no trouble. :)



Finally, I have a picture of a Robin's nest that I took a few days ago, with two beautiful blue eggs. I have been trying not to disturb the mother as much as possible. She flies away if I get closer than about 20 feet. However, yesterday I got a quick peek into the nest and now there is a third egg! More to come on this story. :) Some of you may remember my pictures from last year when a dove nested in the same place!



Ah, now on to the more serious business of where I have been. On December 16 of last year, my father's mother passed away suddenly. She had been in declining health for some years, but her passing was quite a shock for me. As I said in my post "Questions and Answers", from November of last year, visiting my Grandmother in Tucson, Arizona was high on my list of things I wanted to do! I had not seen her in about three years. She and I did talk occasionally on the phone, though. Three months before she died, she asked me to come and see her soon. I wanted to. I just wish there had been more time. She was my last surviving grandparent, and one of my most beloved relatives. I have been working on and off since February on a post to honor her memory and tell a bit about her life. It is still in the works and I will eventually publish it here. For a long time, I thought that I just had to finish it before I wrote anything else in my blog, but my heart just hasn't been fully into the project. I am still healing from her loss, but I am feeling better. I have many enjoyable memories of her and my grandfather. I promise that I will share some of them with you!

Finally, just a quick note about my new blog Apolitical Deconstruction. I have published a few of my letters to my U.S. Senators there and I will certainly write more in the future! I have some strong convictions, which I don't mind sharing with my elected representatives (and now with you as well, if you are interested). However, I view political opinions in much the same light as religious beliefs. It is ok if your opinions and beliefs are different from mine. As long as the conversation remains polite, you are free to agree or disagree. I am willing to accept you as you are if you will afford me the same courtesy. So, with that in mind, I look forward to interesting discourse with whomever wishes to visit and engage. So far, all my visitors have been quite amicable! :)

Bye for now, and thanks for your patience and support! I promise to return again soon.