perseverence

[OT from cottage renovations]

this spring has been characterised so far by a mixture of warm and cold days.  in response the blooms seem to be overlapping more than usual though since I don't exactly keep hard records it's more of an impression than a conclusion. 

the past couple of days have been quite blustery; more windy than cold though the effect is the same as far as going out of doors is concerned.  not that I've been able to do that: last week I pulled a muscle in the upper R leg and after a few days of it getting worse rather than better I went from mildly bothered to concerned and sought medical consultation.  the doc was able to rule out all sorts of horrific things but she ordered me off the leg until it gets better, at least a week.  so I've been complying with the instructions: no biking, no unassisted walking and even then to do as little of it as possible, and throw ibuprofen and ice at it. 

the goal is to sustain enough improvement to be able to manage at least limited duty participation in next week's gulf coast relief expedition.  if it were to have left yesterday or today I would have been obliged to bail on it but with a few more days to go there's a chance. 

(click through this thumbnail for higher resolution image)

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crocus

OK, so going after an image of this crocus blooming out front may not have been in full compliance with medical instruction.  my excuse is that the picture is inspirational: the crocus has pushed aside the oak bark mulch and is reaching up to the air and light. 
surely we should all try to do likewise.