Today we have a blanket of sleet on the ground and wind chills in the teens. But spring is coming! The picture above was taken at Devil’s Den State Park last year. We had a some rain during the week and the red bud were blooming.

I like cooler weather, but this year it has been so cloudy that I am counting down the days until Spring.

The themes of life seem to repeat in subtle ways. The pattern on the fungi reminds me of the growth rings on a tree. Some rings are thick and dark others are thin and light with a variety between the two extremes.

This picture was taking at Devil’s Den a few weeks ago. It is the end of an old log by the river bed on one of the bike trails.

If you ever find yourself in Old Main on the University of Arkansas campus,and you have a few minutes to spare, go see the Clock room.  The mechanism that runs the clock in the tower is housed in a small room on the fourth floor. It is nicely painted and you can see all the cogs working.

The mechanism is in a glass case and there are windows along one side of the room so it is difficult to get a picture without glare.

The past week has been long and rough, short work weeks usually are not easy weeks. I haven’t had time to get my camera out, so here is a shot from Spring 2014.

One of my favorite flowers is a white peony. The soft texture of the petals and ruffled edges is what I love about this flower. In this image the lighting is soft along with the color, it reminds me that not all things in this world have hard edges and there is whimsy in nature. This image makes me smile and reminds me to to indulge in my whimsical side every once in a while.

I know in most parts of the country thistles are really nasty weeds, but I am fascinated by the opposite textures. The top is soft and the smell is sweet, but the stem and base of the flower are painful to touch. In the images above I show only the base of the flower in black and white, because I liked the starkness of the images.

Considering the tree is decaying and the rock is broken, who won?