Hands

I noticed my father's hands yesterday, and held one.  At ninety-three his hands are slender, stiff.  Their skin thin, like parchment, his blood pooled just below making his hands appear bruised.  They are soft hands, rarely used now.  In my childhood, they were clean hands.  As a pharmacist my father rarely did any work that would make his hands dirty.  Before they were the hands of a pilot that flew corsairs in the Pacific theater, a subject rarely discussed, a time he is not particularly proud of what he was required to do.

My mother's hands are beaten and battered, still showing signs of their strength.  They are bent with arthritic knuckles.  These hands raised and played with children.  These hands build rock walls and patios, planted and still plant flowers in her garden.  They have cook and cleaned for years.  They have changed diapers, and cared for a daughter who died from lung cancer.  They are hands that tell the story of this mother's life.

With my hands, I work a relative clean job requiring mostly typing.  I am not afraid to get my hands dirty.  I tend to get paint or ink all over them when I do something creative beyond typing.  My life has not included the raising of children, unless you consider playing with a niece, nephew or one of my dogs.  I did notice yesterday a bump on my index finger knuckle, may be the start of arthritis.

Salt Lake Trib article about Ogden Canyon

This article has some historic photos of Ogden Canyon
http://www.sltrib.com/csp/mediapool/sites/sltrib/pages/gallery.csp?cid=2714243&pid=2591728

Play with watercolors

 A Facebook reminder popped up with this painting that  I painted last year while playing with watercolors.

A little longer

Some mornings,  the sheets are just the perfect softness and warmth that all you wish to do is snuggle in a little deeper and sleep a little longer.

Through my Window

Through my bedroom in the western sky a golden-orange moon shines through the dark branches of an evergreen tree.  Later, I watch as blue gray clouds obscure the moon before moving on.

Ogden Marathon

Today's marathoners are experiencing a windy, wet run through the canyon.

Canyon view

 A perfectly green Spring day!

Collection

We all have collections of things.  I have a collection of lapel pins.  Over the years when my parents traveled they brought home a pin, as they were small and easily packed in a suitcase.  I of course had added to the collection when I see one that I like.  I like to wear them to work, as my boss likes to notice them.  He has begun adding more pins to my collection.

Art Competition At Eccles Community Art Center

Artists, tomorrow, May 20 is the first day to register for participation in the Plein Air Competition to be exhibited at the ‪#‎ECAC‬ during June. for more information: http://ogden4arts.org/compet…/plein-air-competition-exhibit/ Please share! Thank you!

Morning Breeze

A beautiful morning walk.  The sunlight is dancing with the green leaves through a morning breeze.

A May Flower

A sweet scent in the air.  The flower of May is in bloom.  Perfect white bells with scalloped small curled petals on slight green stems curl out from square central stem.  Curved, broad, obate leaves protect the floral stem.  A lily of the valley grows, and bloom among other lilies of the valley under a canyon chokecherry in the side yard of my mother's garden.

A few picked stems with a leaf or two are arranged in a small glass vase filled with water.  A sweet scent fills the air in my room.

Where is the rainbow

This morning my sunrise came with a rainy down pour.  On our morning walk, Mollie and I used the trees for cover.  Sunlight shined through the sheets of rain.  I looked but could not find a rainbow.
Later, I viewed rainbows shared by others on TV during the local weather report.

May Showers bring Hay Fever

There is an old saying that April showers bring may flowers.  This year I have observed that May showers bring field of tall green June grass.  The vacant lots throughout  the city have grasses 8 to 12 inches in height.  They are grasses along the road ways.  These grass will soon bloom, and hay fever will abound.

Morning view

My bedroom window looks to the west.  So I do not see the sunrise, but I do see the sky change.  During the early morning, it is dark with pinpoint stars.  Later it is gray, and blue gray.  Then a little later still, a cloud glows golden.  Now the tree tops are catching the sunlight.  The day has begun.

Wind

Strong winds yesterday and last night brought down branches, trees,roof shingles, and fences.  My niece had  a large walnut tree blow over.  It snapped the roots.  The root ball that came up was about ten feet tall and twelve feet wide.  The tree covered the neighbors backyard, fortunately missing their house.