“The heart is like a garden. What seeds will you plant there?” Buddha The first vista I witness every morning as I traipse downstairs in my pink fluffy slippers to grab a cup of java invigorates my day. Outside my stairwell window, a tall crimson camellia tree sways in the breeze flanked by a shimmering evergreen flowering pear. Rounding the corner, I look to my right. Through the hand-made stained-glass arch, winter and spring co-mingle. The bright cerise flowers of the peac

By Cynthia Brian “Spring drew on…and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.” From Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte With the World Health Organization declaring the coronavirus Corvid-19 a pandemic, daily living as well as travel is interrupted. While we need to be alert and prepared, we can not panic. My method of staying healthy while diminishing

“The ghostly winter silences have given way to the great spring murmur of awakening life.” Jack London It all began when I witnessed the new growth unfurling on one of my loquat trees. The leaves were a mesmerizing bright green, like the color of lime with a hint of sunshine. Ah, sunshine, I thought! How I longed for warm, sun-drenched days. The darkness, cold, and wet of winter had begun to unravel my soul. The rains throughout the winter, although welcome and necessary, hav

by Cynthia Brian “Blossom by blossom the spring begins.” AC Shinburne Even on the darkest, dreariest, rainiest day, looking out my dining room window to my ever-blooming hillside garden gives me great joy. For the past two months, the daffodils and cyclamen have been in full bloom, now joined by the radiant pink blossoms of the Italian white peach tree, the purple fronds of lavender, and the delicate periwinkle flowers of vinca minor. My Meyer lemon tree is bursting with brig