I've never understood how irises work. It's a long, flat leaf, there's really no stem, and from the long flat leaf flowers emerge. Amazing.

And you know what else is amazing? In the midst of stupid gas prices, a Long, Flat, Seemingly Endless Bataan Death March to the White House, and no permanent cure for simple allergies, trees and wildflowers and bugs are sticking to their schedule.

Monique's in California for the week, which means my diet has quickly devolved into cold Ravioli straight from the can, Sweet Tarts, and Rosauer's fried chicken. She's at a director's conference in Pasadena, and theater simple is performing there as well. It's weird not having her here, and this weekend for Memorial Day, it's gonna be weird not having any of my family here. Despite the holiday, I'm gonna try to go for a hike.

There's a log -- maybe 20 feet long and 10" diameter -- stuck against the big rock in front of the "cabin". It floated down sometime yesterday, and it's balanced perfectly. That takes some doing! The top is smaller and lighter than the bottom, so if it hit the rock in the middle, it would bounce off and float downriver. The rock face is definitely not flat, and the amount and force of water hitting the log is constantly changing.

This is a shot I took the other evening. Normally I like to hide buildings, power lines, etc., but I kinda liked the look of this, so I kept it in.

Spring... rebirth, regeneration, reawakening, hatching, cleaning, nurturing spring.