Spring in the park

Spring is here and we've returned to the park across the street from our house. Check out the sunshine in Ivy's hair. Here's wishing everyone a Happy Easter!

Weekend celebrations

This weekend was a celebratory one. Today is Ivy's 14-month birthday and she wore a fancy sun hat, a spring dress and her sweetest smiles.

Another birthday was observed in South Korea this weekend. Korean Buddhists marked the birth of Buddha on May 2nd. The festivities in Seoul were spectacular as thousands flocked to the streets for nighttime parades; here in Madison the three of us reveled at home in our greening backyard -- the blue sky our dome, the afternoon sun our temple bell and Ivy our baby bodhisattva.

We all come together as one, singing and dancing under a shower of pink lotus petals.

Lacking lotus flowers in our Madison garden, we painted them on scraps of fabric, made a garland and hung our cheery lotus flags on our pergola where they fluttered in the breeze all afternoon. Ivy liked watching them during our Buddha's Birthday picnic on the grass.

Afterwards we relaxed on the deck in the shade of our sun umbrella . . .

. . . laughing and finding joy on this enlightened day.

We hope that you've all had a peaceful weekend.

Swing Dancing

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do

The Swing, R.L. Stevenson

We have the pleasantest park in our neighborhood. It's nestled in a slight dale just across the street from our house and Kevin, Markie and I take Ivy there as often as possible. She loves the swings, the green plastic tunnel that connects an elevated platform to a slide and the little pebbles that serve as a cushion beneath all the playground equipment. The gravel is the perfect size for her little hands and wee mouth and so far I think that I've deterred Ivy every time she's attempted to slide a pebble into her mouth.

There is nothing like early spring days or the first swing of the season: