Here come the iris and rhodies

This iris just bloomed this morning

I've been watching the flowers across the neighborhood begin to bloom, and it's the only time of the year when so many are in bloom at once. I can't remember a time, however, when so many are emerging while earlier ones are still going strong. The lilacs (which I wrote about here last week) are STILL beautiful and luxuriant. Usually the lilacs only last a few days, but as I walked by last week's lilacs, they are all out there, with their fragrance continuing to waft into the air. I wish I could smell them, but the memory of their fragrance is strong, even in my weakened nostrils. Odor is such a funny thing: I am not sure whether I can smell certain flowers, or whether my recollection of that smell is strong enough to fill my imagination.

When I walked to the bus this morning, I considered whether or not to join the Senior Trailblazers in their excursion to Abbotsford, Canada, since the hike is not a long one or with much elevation gain. I decided against it, though, since my right hip is still sore from Saturday's walk. And I had a great yoga class yesterday that loosened things up, but  these days I no longer feel a need to push myself. That might reassert itself during the summer, but for now I am happy to get my three-mile walk from the bus into my local neighborhood. I might go out and take a walk to the boardwalk at Squalicum Beach, but I probably won't. I've got another great yoga class tomorrow, and who knows what I might feel like after that? On Thursday I have my volunteer work at the Senior Center, where I almost always acquire a ten-thousand step workout. 

And, hopefully, I will be able to get my haircut on Friday, delayed a week because my stylist ended up sidelined with measles. She's originally from Vietnam, and has two college-aged kids who might have brought the disease to her. I am okay because I had it when I was a pre-teenager, along with my dad. We were both quarantined for two weeks in the same bedroom, so I remember it well. I also had the vaccination (I think) and was not terribly sick, but sick enough to remember the time.

Beautiful rhododendron bush

I will eventually write about something other than the gorgeous flowers, but for now it's just the most delightful thing to see all these incredibly beautiful flowers on my daily walks. Hope the world is lovely (and not too hot or cold) in your neck of the woods.

:-)