Maybe you can see from this image why I find it so challenging to capture this group. And why I find it so enthralling. I'm not sure this image works. It's almost an HDR, but it's not really. May I have many springs to perfect this view. And every year the trees grow!

My Sony cameras have an option to take photos with an effect, although I usually take RAW photos and do the processing of the images in the computer. But it's fun, every once in a while, to use the applications in the cameras. This image was taken with the watercolor effect. The f/stop or the opening of the diaphragm within the lens appears to alter the affect. In this case, I used a wide angle zoom at 16mm and f/4 to accentuate the watercolor appearance and remove nearly all details. What I enjoy about using this setting is that it encourages me to more carefully examine the composition with less attention to the details. You may notice that it also changes the original proportions of the image which is generally 2:3 but is 9:16 which some artists say is a more appealing proportion.

The newest dogwood tree in our yard is this white one. I go out every day to speak encouraging words to this beauty.

Why not? I don't get tired of the blooms. Maybe you won't either.

We have four dogwood trees in our backyard, each one with different color of blooms from the others. Each spring as the trees grow and mature, the blooms get more and more numerous. It is pure joy to sit on the deck and overlook the show. I have hundreds of photos of these trees, taken at all times of the day, with different angles, and different lenses. And I never seem to capture the essence of the the tree. Elusive beauty.

The first mention of crocheted doilies is about 200 years ago. And when thread was mercerized in the 1840's the craft became popular with strengthened thread. Doilies were placed on furniture to protect the wooden surface, and used under dinner and dessert plates much like chargers today. They appeared on upholstered chair backs to protect the fabric from men's oil hair products. We have friends that collect antique doilies. It's important to know that it's homemade doilies that are collectible. And how does one determine that the doily is handmade rather than made by a machine? Handmade doilies have imperfections: stitches that were missed or a difference in tension in the loops. Handmade doilies are imperfect but the best. Could be a lesson about our lives as well.

No, I didn't take this photo. I suspect it is from 1956, in front of my grandmother Wolf's house in Peru, Indiana. This week my sister was reminiscing about Easter celebrations with our grandparents. Here we are with Easter baskets, although I notice my brother, Steve, doesn't have one. Next to him is my cousin Nancy, who shared the blond hair coloring of my brother and me. And next to me is my sister, Patsy, who is 2 years younger than me. And that's me on the right. Where did all that hair go? And why didn't I stick with bowties? Clearly my style! 

When we were children, we didn't know about the true reason for the Easter celebration. I thought it was all about jelly beans, chocolate, and new clothes. But we are no longer children. And as my sister said this week that although we can't be together nor worship with our congregations, it's all about Jesus. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Those kids have something to smile about, indeed!

We have never experienced an Easter weekend like this before. Churches are closed, millions are unemployed, and thousands are dead. Grief is so very real as it must have been that first weekend. Whatever the mission of Jesus had meant to his followers, his death plunged them into the depths of despair to the point of hiding behind closed doors. At that point, they didn't know about the hope that would cause them to spread the news of resurrection around the world. May we find reasons to help us leave the present grief behind.