Flower Friday : : Pieris in the Rain

From where I sit, I am looking at this single cluster of blossoms left on a large pieris in the patio. I have watched the hummingbirds visit it all summer and thought about how delicate yet strong it is. It has been quite stormy for the past two days, and in the intervals the neighborhood rings with the sounds of chainsaws. Trees, weakened by age, drought and disease succumb to the wind and weight of the water. Yet this one cluster of blossoms has hung on.

A fellow blipper, heartsick about the bombing of hospitals and schools in Aleppo asks,  "I wish with all my heart that all children everywhere lived in safety with adequate shelter, food and health care. What can we do?" I'm sure every caring person on earth echoes that cry of helplessness. Why can such a small number of people hold the world hostage like this?

The only answer I have is resilience, like the delicate blossoms clinging to the branch despite the storm, and hope that the majority of caring people in the world will find a way to overcome the greed and hate of a few.