Flower Friday : : Hellebore

There was frost on the roof this morning and the hummingbird feeder was frozen. OilMan has been covering the lettuce and the citrus, but the lantana has succumbed as have the daffodils, except for the clumps planted under the oak trees which is where they like to be.

The hellebores either bloom or they die. There is no middle ground with them. I love them, partly because they bloom in early spring, but also because they are so unusual. When I looked at this clump early this morning, I thought they were goners, but when I went out later in the day, the sun was shining and they had perked up. When I say perked up, I must add that this particular variety never gets much taller than about eighteen inches and they always bow their heads and look at the ground.

In an effort to get at least some of their faces, I found myself flat on my back on the shallow stairs, camera, well, phone, pointed skyward. It was lovely. Although it had been quite chilly when I was upright, the sun was shining on my face and I must have managed to get myself below the boundary layer of the chill breeze. I felt no inclination to get up again, which is probably just as well since I was pretty sure it wouldn't be pretty...

I had quite a nice time snapping pictures as I lay on my back in the sun...the tiny incipient buds on the branches of the big oaks, the birds, totally unaware of my presence, sitting in the plum tree, vultures effortlessly riding the thermals high above me and even the sun itself*.

For once, I felt that I really was in the moment. It was a good moment....