Downstate

There are some lovely sights in southwest Michigan this time of year. Dogwood is indeed blooming (as I'd hoped it would be), along with redbud and many wonderful wildflowers in the woods. My friend Laurie's backyard had May apples and Virginia bluebells, two flowers we don't have in Leelanau County, and the dogwood tree in her front yard was in bloom, along with many back in the woods. Barbara and I had a lovely walk through the woods across from their home, with more flowering dogwood, to the shore of a perfect small lake.

When people at home heard I was planning a trip downstate, they would ask “Why?” It was simple curiosity, not a request for justification. Now I see that my reasons were threefold: to spend time with family and friends; to participate in the book club event at the Portage Public Library; and to see dogwood in bloom.

I've been reading CLARA CALLAN, by Richard B. Wright, and Woye Soyinka's autobiography, AKE. A spring getaway! Living, as usual, in the present moment, memories from the past, and in the pages of books.