wild strawberries

I came home after work to find the lawn, including the tiny bit of backyard, that's just outside my kitchen door, mowed down to a nub. I'm afraid the wild strawberries I've enjoyed the last couple of years will not grow back. I have pictures from last year (see header photo above), and I can remember what they tasted like. But, I am in some distress about the shorn quality of my back yard, and don't know what to do. I will call or e-mail my landlady tomorrow, asking her to tell whoever mows to skip my piece of backyard for the rest of the growing season.

I am feeling frustrated with the things I'm tolerating in the name of stability. Something's gotta give and I hope I can find the courage to change whatever needs changing. This is not as much of a non-sequitor as it may seem. I have been feeling that I need to do something but haven't felt like I could, but now I see the more I wait the harder it's going to be to move forward.

Spring is such a kick in the pants, you know? 

Updated 5/22: Looks like the strawberries have survived and I'm seeing blossoms so maybe all is not lost! In other news the breeses are sweet and full of lilac blossom scents...so lovely.

Aunt Rose

One of the painting sketches I've been doing of relatives on my mom's side of the family. In this case my Aunt Rose, from a photobooth photo of her when she was about nine years old.

rites

Above I cut my hair this morning - celebrating spring by liberating my curls.

Below, the rug I retrieved from my workplace dumpster a few weeks ago, the day I gave it away via freecycle.org

Obits

A couple of weeks ago I posted about someone who may have committed suicide (the family believes it was accidental and there is evidence to back this up). I now feel compelled to report another death.

A couple of days ago (Saturday) my employer's (Randy's) dad committed suicide. He was found in a shallow creek. He left a note. He'd been struggling with depression for a long time. Sometime in the past six months/year things got much worse and everyone in the family was feeling the effects of it. I feel for Randy and his family. I hope Randy's dad is no longer in pain, is no longer suffering. And I hope Randy's family feels some lifting of that burden of suffering as well.