Missing the Grandchildren

Because of my illness, I haven't seen Bella or Evan since mid-March, and today for the first time in ages I went out to do a few errands on foot and passed by the playground where I have often taken them during cherry blossom time. The playground has been redesigned and refurbished since Bella and Evan were toddlers, but it felt empty, and I noted with some alarm that splotches of red paint have been left on the grand old cherry tree. I hope the splotches are not a sign that the tree will be taken down.

I am overwhelmed and deeply touched by the enthusiasm for my last post. I haven't had the energy or clarity to respond to all the comments, but I have read them all and am grateful and a bit embarrassed. What affirmation! Thank you, thank you.

My thanks also to Ceridwen for a wonderful gift that arrived today: The Secret Life of Cows, by Rosamund Young. I had the great fortune in the 70s to live in a little shack in Louisiana with baby Seth, just the two of us for a year and a half, surrounded on three sides by cow pasture. I got to know some of the cows, and I am happy to see that Young's much deeper knowledge of cow behavior affirms what I thought I saw then but did not comprehend. She writes in the introduction, 

"Cows are as varied as people. They can be highly intelligent or slow to understand; friendly, considerate, aggressive, docile, inventive, dull, proud or shy" (1). I can scarcely put the book down long enough to post this, but I had to come say thank you, thank you to her and to each of you who dropped by to welcome me back. Thank you.