Sweetness

It's a sweet time of year roundabout Exit 151. Sunday was as close to peak bloom as I expect this strange spring in Branch Brook Park. With such a profusion of choices, I finally got a photo that suits the odd format (850 x 315 pixels) of the new Facebook "cover."



Even though I've been to view the cherry blossoms many times before, there's always something new to look at. This year I wanted to see how the trees were doing after the hurricane and freak snowstorm of last fall. Amazingly, even though this tree was badly broken, it is still capable of producing great beauty.



I was happy to spot this fabulous sparkly pink unicorn bicycle. In the U.S., only 24% of bicycle riders are women; in the Netherlands, it's 55%. This Women's History Month it's well to remember that being fabulous and girly and strong in public – and at the polls – are not mutually exclusive.



Also new this year, there's a cell phone tour of the park, complete with QR codes. This stop is in front of the Visitor Center; the narrator expresses pride that, erm, it's no longer just a restroom. Hilarious as I find that, I admit freely and gratefully that nice indoor facilities >> porta-potties.



If you missed the display last weekend, not to worry, the late bloomers should still be lovely this coming weekend.

Meanwhile, my International Yarn & Candy Swap parcel arrived from generous Thórunn, who lives in Reykjavik. Thank you, Thórunn – what a magnificent haul of Icelandic yarn and candy! I foresee many happy hours of careful investigation.



As seems to happen lately, I was eliminated from Sock Madness 6, or rather I qualified to receive all patterns, but am relegated to Team Honorable Mention with noncompetitor status. Much as I'd like to compete, I'm not unhappy to be free of the competition requirement to knit the patterns exactly as written and instead to have the option to alter them to suit my Frankenfeet. Maybe that's the sweetest thing of all: to have multiple good choices and to be... not indifferent, I do care about what happens... to be content with the multiple outcomes.