Flowers and butterflies

It's that time of year again. Frederick Meijer Garden has it's butterfly display. It's also orchid time. I put a set out on Flickr. Here's the link to the set.

But these don't really give you a good idea what the flowers look like. So I decided to crop a few to show here. Please click on them and choose all sizes. They look so lovely in the large size.

Three years now

Well, my blog is having its anniversary today. I remember being quite excited and not sure how it was going to go. Turns out that I've used it more as a photo blog. When I first started I didn't even have a digital camera. While I'm pleased how I've done with my picture-taking, Ichabod keeps complaining that I don't write stories much anymore.

Here is the second post I ever did, the first story that I ever told on my blog. And this is where I told why my name is Squirl.

But this all ended up being much more than a place to tell funny stories. I've met a lot of wonderful people in the blogworld. There have been a few idiots and jerks along the way but they've all dropped off. Some other have dropped out that I wish wouldn't have. It's been a very interesting ride this last three years. Thanks for being there with me.

New life

No matter how lousy things are, no matter how long winter is, there is one thing that can really cheer me up. That would be new growth, new plants sprouting in my yard. Against all odds these wonderful little beings push up through the hard ground, snow, whatever else might be in their way. Such a wonderful example of pushing through all of the crap that life can throw at you and still be at your best.

Anyway, here are a few shots of my little green buddies. :-)

Hospital time

Hi. I know I haven't updated in over a week. It's been kinda sucky. Ichabod's sister's been in and out of the hospital for about a week now. They've finally decided that it's her gallbladder and she'll be in surgery tonight. We hope that will take care of her problems.
UPDATE: She had the gallbladder surgery last night and is doing well.

Then, my sister-in-law in Iowa is also in the hospital. She's the one who was married to my older brother, the brother who passed away 4 1/2 years ago. Her lungs have been bad for a long time. Now she has pneumonia and is not able to breathe on her own. She's very weak and isn't able to speak because she has a breathing tube down her throat.

I know that everyone's praying for her to get better. But, maybe that's not what's going to happen. I'm not happy about that, but it seems more realistic.

Sorry about the downer post. Things just suck a bit right now.

Another UPDATE: Iowa sil is breathing on her own. She might actually be able to go home at some point when she regains strength. She'll need someone there to take care of her, but this is still way better news than I originally expected.

Foray into Photoshop

I've had Photoshop Elements 4 for quite some time, but I haven't really learned how to use it. My lovely sister, Bucky, gave me a lesson this morning. Here are the pictures I ended up with.