Tulips in November

More accurately, this blog title should read, "Planting Tulips in November." I was thrilled that the weather has stayed warm enough that I could get outside today and plant the Darwin Hybrid tulip bulbs I purchased over two months ago.

Opportunities to plant my tulip garden had come and gone, and many days that would have been good for planting were not good for me. The immunosuppressants I need to take to keep my body from rejecting my new kidney also make me a target for the germs going around in this cold and flu season. I've already succumbed to three colds and had many a day when my body rebelled the idea of digging a garden.

Luckily, today was not such a day! The weather was in the low 60s and perfect for planting. With trowel in hand, I put about 30 tulip bulbs into the ground, watered them and covered them with nutrient rich organic soil, followed by a layer of leaves.

Come springtime, I hope strong and healthy tulip shoots will push their way up through the soil, grow tall and bloom in the vibrant mix of colors promised. They'll be a welcome sight, especially after the stark, gray days of wintertime...a lovely gift for this day spent planting.

Nine Months and Flying Onward

Today is nine months to the day I had my kidney transplant. On the morning of February 8, the day of the operation, I got a last call from a nurse coordinator at Johns Hopkins making sure that we would all be able to make it to the hospital. We were facing the infamous blizzards of 2010 and already over a foot of snow had fallen in Maryland. Kevin and Desirae's boyfriend had shoveled the drive and the local roads were in drivable shape, so I told her we were ready to take the long drive to Baltimore and would be on time for our surgeries - Desirae my donor and me the grateful recipient.

At the news that we'd be able to make it in, the nurse coordinator suddenly became very emotional. She told me I would be like a butterfly after receiving my new kidney, that it would be like coming out of a long sleep and springing back to life again. I appreciated her sentiment, but could not fully comprehend the meaning of her kind, colorful words. I did find them very encouraging though, and the imagery stuck in my mind.

Immediately after surgery, I was indeed happy all went well for both my daughter and me, but I felt the furthest thing from a graceful butterfly. I was in horrible pain, couldn't move around well, and it took quite some time to even approach feeling human again. All the medicines I now had to take to prevent my body from rejecting the kindest gift of all, it's new kidney, initially made me feel sick, unsteady, and bloated. What was this about being like a butterfly???

Well, after nine months, I finally get it...

The gift of continued life and the chance of a long life of relatively good health is like being given a pair of wings to fly. It is enchanting and beautiful - a feeling of grace and light. Before the surgery, life was fraught with dread and fear and limitations. Now, I look forward to new opportunities and new ways to express my gratitude for this "second chance." Life after transplant surgery truly can be viewed as emerging from dormancy to a new perspective on life - a life where the only thing stopping you from doing what you want to do or becoming who you want to be is yourself - illness no longer impedes you or troubles your thought processes as it did before. It's very liberating! And, like a butterfly, you are free.

Life is Like a Dream

The fall colors in this streamside scene are almost surreal. The oranges, yellows, and greens are all bright neon shades.

Living Up to its Name

This tiny red maple tree...

stands out among all others.

Wearing the brightest, crimson red leaves...

it's truly living up to its name!

A Sample of Autumn Scenes from New England

Stream flowing through the Adirondacks, New York

Beautiful Vermont Green Mountains Countryside

Quechee Gorge, Vermont

Poet Robert Frost's Homestead in Shaftsbury, Vermont

Kevin and I were very fortunate to be able to take a trip to New England earlier this month when the region was bursting forth with fall color. We stayed at a lodge in the Adirondack's in New York for the first leg of our trip and visited Vermont for the second part. The countryside was a never-ending trail of beauty.

Left click on the photographs above to see a full-sized version...enjoy!!!

Real Love

A love that's real, a love that's true, a love that lasts for all time ~ there are true believers and those who scoff at the very notion of eternal love. I, for one, am in the first category. I believe that all of us find true love by having it within ourselves, nurturing it, and being ready to give and receive it.

Even if we are presently without life partners, we all have ways to grow our own capacities to love and be loved. Caring for family, friends, and neighbors, working for and giving to those who are less fortunate, adopting and nurturing the love of animals, the simple daily gives and takes of life approached with kindness and appreciation for others are all ways we nurture our own capacity to be givers and lovers. Love involves great patience and kindness and a willingness to live in ways that elevate others instead of bringing them down. Love is an action word - and, yes, it does involve work - a constant steady flow of consideration for others and for the earth we share as our home. To respect differences without compromising our own principles, to live simply and with gratitude...to honor all...these are the building blocks to living a life of love.

Loving your partner brings out the desire to put his or her happiness above your own simply because that's what you want to do. You want to be the best possible version of yourself that you can be, not only for yourself, but to share with your love. And, don't believe Hollywood movie lines - love does mean saying you're sorry when you say or do the wrong thing. Let's face it, none of us are perfect, we all slip up from time to time and say or do something hurtful. That simple sentence, "I'm sorry," spoken with sincerity goes a long way.

Love involves passion, but it isn't defined by it. Love encompasses every emotion in all their expressions. Not only can love endure all things, it is all things...and all things are made better with love. Love keeps us hoping, dreaming, creating, believing.

My life long friend is getting married this Friday. I wish her and her husband a life of dreams come true built on a solid foundation of real love.

Woolly Weather

Startled and all curled up, the larval form of the Isabella Tiger Moth, Pyrrharctia isabella.

This adorably fuzzy caterpillar is more commonly known as the Woolly Bear, or, further south, the Woolly Worm. According to folklore, the woolly bear is a winter weather predictor. The wider the middle reddish-brown band (the more brown colored segments there are), the milder the winter supposedly will be. Even though there is no scientific proof for the caterpillars ability to portend our weather conditions, over the years they've been observed, their color predictors have been surprisingly accurate.

Camera shy Woolly Bear on the run...

From the width of his brown middle band of 7 or 8 segments, it looks like we won't be faring too badly this winter! Earlier this season, I also came across some woolly bears that were entirely reddish-brown in color.

Moving up!

In this last photograph above, you can definitely see the wooliness of the Woolly Bear and see how it got it's name. The caterpillar's actually a little more fuzzy feeling than he is woolly...but woolly bear sounds as cute as this little guy is - a favorite fall mascot!