A few years ago I had a colonoscopy. No one wanted to know that but, there is my secret. Unfortunately, I will probably have several more thoughout my life. The prep for one is not pleasant but I know they are necessary. I imagine more people have had the procedure than one realizes.

We are looking forward to Easter. This week the children participate in a procession of palms. It is fun to watch them waving thier leaves in the air occasionally swatting each other in the head. Of course my Tanner would never do such a thing.

Tanner and I went to visit Mom and Dad in Lake View today. Although the lake was partially frozen, there were many geese and ducks taking time out from flight. All is well in Iowa!

We hope you and your family have a blessed Easter, and may your stomach feel better too!!
Enjoy Spring!!

Below is an unusual comments, in that it is a very Connie-like nature observation piece that appeared in today’s LA times. We much enjoy Connie’s nature observations, and they have heightened our own appreciation of the details of our natural world.

Thus, this piece may be of interest (although it’s not as good as what we regularly get from Seward, NB).

dick and susan gale
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Spring springs in L.A. Believe it or not, the city has seasons, says editorial page editor Jim Newton.
March 15, 2008 (Appeared on Editorial Page of LA Times.)

Of the many myths about Los Angeles, one of the most widely trafficked is that we lack seasons. This notion, circulated by grumpy Midwesterners (yes, we know a few) who feel the need to justify why they continue to shovel snow and swat mosquitoes, surely is belied by our recent nights.

In like a lamb has ambled our spring. February’s rains accomplished what we asked: They boosted the snowpack and allowed us to turn off sprinklers and cut back on water at least for a month. They’re never enough, but this week brought a few extra sprinkles, and as winter ebbs, it leaves the earth rich and wet. Now comes the bloom. The sensuous waft of oranges, the tang of lemon, the rich, sweet overtone of jasmine, the soft touch of magnolia, the first hint of wisteria — they are the scent of spring, blending in the night air. Even the rains we get this time of year are different — warmer, softer, more shower than flood.

By morning, the parrots are jabbering in Pasadena; the finches skitter through Griffith Park, where sprigs of green return across slopes scorched in last fall’s fires. Along highways, red-tail hawks perch and wait for prey.

Birds and blossoms give Los Angeles the look and scent of spring, but it returns in sounds as well. On sunny weekend mornings, Highland Park now awakens to the ping of bat on ball as grown men in baseball uniforms test old legs on new grass. Mariachis congregate in Boyle Heights, where their historic haunts have been pressured by the extension of the subway but where fair weather lengthens their day; farmers’ markets hum in Hollywood and the Palisades and elsewhere in our far-flung metropolis. Mothers and fathers push babies along Larchmont; the coffeehouses of Silver Lake bustle with the quickening pulse of spring, even against the strange backdrop of the empty reservoir.

Along the beach, waves crash and rumble, suddenly beneath warm skies. At the water’s edge is the reassuring sight of women, men and children — of all conceivable races and creeds — walking the boardwalk, elbowing for position on the basketball courts and sharing the sand, cheek by jowl, at ease with one another.

This may not be a season as defined by our Eastern friends. It doesn’t mark the respite between hard cold and sticky heat; rather, it’s the gentle transition from rain to sun, from fireplaces to beach blankets. But it’s a season just the same, of scent and sound, no less a spring for the lack of mud.

And from this, our blossomed spring, comes quickly the next turn of our Southern California calendar: It’s jacaranda season, just around the corner.

— Jim Newton

What great news! I had a colonoscopy several years ago. It was a piece of cake! I hardly knew what was happening (thank goodness!) May it go well with you, too.

David

I’d love to see you get Alphie help with the bird seed. It indeed would be a sight to behold!

The snow is disappearing….and last week several robins “were bob bob bobbing along!” Today I saw a perfect “V” of geese heading north! A good sign indeed.

Do you know the reason why when geese fly one side of the “v” is shorter than the other? (There are more geese on one side than the other!) A groaner – I know! I seem to fall for it every time someone tells me! Gullible too!

Peace and joy to you!

Irene