Seeds of change

I have always loved apples, devouring them as a child, never letting them spoil in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator or in the fruit basket on the sunny counter. Not every apple mind you, I never really developed an appreciation for Spartans, something about the texture; or Red Delicious either - too mushy I think. Golden Delicious, that's a better apple for my money, or Granny Smith with its puckering tartness - now that's a sensation! But nothing ever compared to a BC MacIntosh for me, its subtle green and red outer skin seemingly caught somewhere between both colours, its bright white juicy interior filled with sweetness and crisp, clear notes... that's an apple for me.

I've been away from writing a bit - busy in life I suppose, working on projects that have involved more time and mental energy, that somehow have left less of both for the important things in personal and mental growth. Those damned migraines have resurfaced anew lately as well, stealing away what energy and stamina was left, until the days blended together into weeks into almost a month.

Summer returned to brighten our spirits and fill our days with more ideas of how to stay even busier - and we allow ourselves to be seduced by the glossy ads of ideal yards and the longing for something more relaxing than where we find ourselves right now. So we plant and weed, and mow and trim, paint and stain and scrub and cut and haul away loads of yesterday's ideas and plans, making room for today's and tomorrow's and the tomorrow's after that.

The neighbours trees, bright green branches reaching higher into the sky, became a blizzard of blossoms in the wind this week, littering the back yard with an aerial assault of summer's promise. With the heat of last week, we filled the pool in anticipation of continued hot days and clear sunny skies, only to be rewarded with cool greys and the pool skimmer net and unlimited opportunity to use it.

Apple blossoms blowing into the yard must be to blame, a cosmic karmic debt of sorts, for the other time-consuming aspect of this past month: visits to Apple Store(s) and our successive returns home with sleekly designed white boxes, and the treasures they contained: a macbook pro for Karen started us off, followed by an iPad on our trip to Minneapolis mid-month ahead of the launch in Canada tomorrow, and then last weekend after running out of patience with the waiting ritual of the PC start up, a new iMac for my desk. So, yes, I've been distracted, and converted.

In for a penny in for a pound.

Of Apples that is.