Maria went off with her friend Jackie on a Wildflower Walk this morning and I went to the gym to work out.

When they came home, I made a Jumbo Crab/Rice Noodle Stir Fry. It was a hit. I added some cumin to the noodles, basked some pine nuts and almond shavings, and put them all together with the rice noodles and delicious chunks of crab meat.

I was proud of myself; I got many compliments. There is something to this cooking business.

We just put some sheets and tarps over my garden beds; there’s a Frost Warning tonight. I think the bulbs and the perennials will be fine.

(I deliberately overexposed the above photo of apple blossoms in bloom, above; I think it better captures its magic. It certainly calms me. I hope it relaxes you.)

It’s going to warm up dramatically next week. I decided to take my Leica out for a walk; I was looking for some calming pictures and photos that soothe and quiet the anxious soul.

)

(I love to watch the animals grace, they are never happier or more at peace than when they can dig into fresh grass after a long winter eating dry hay.)

I think I found a few. This afternoon.

I spent several hours plowing through an excellent biography of Elon Musk, who is taking over Twitter and driving Silicon Valley and millions of tweeters into a meltdown. I don’t know, I can’t imagine he can make it any worse.

Like him or not, Musk is a remarkable human being; he is in the process of changing our world and is doing things no other human being has been able to do. He is a testament to the power of will.

It’s a great book; I’m going to write about it tomorrow.

(Bird Bath: The cats prefer to drink out of the birdbath than the freshwater we bring them in bowls. Cats are a mystery to me, always.)

I will watch a British Mystery on Netflix now and go to bed. I hope the photos are as calming and soothing as I meant them to be.

On top of everything else, I’m radically altering my sleep. With the apnea mask, I’m sleeping between five and seven hours every night. I’ve been researching how to prepare for sleep. No more electronic devices in bed before sleeping, books only. And an earlier bedtime, so I have longer to sleep.

*This photo was born as homework, learning how to change my settings in the dark. Maria was with her friend at lunch, and; I thought the picture was calming and revealing because it challenges the imagination and makes you look. It’s also a very quiet photo.)

After dinner, I became aware of the frost alert and we scrambled; I’ve planted two or three perennials and about 20 bulbs in my three garden beds. I’m waiting until after Memorial Day weekend to plant the flower seeds.

I think they’ll all be fine, but just want to make sure.

Next Sunday, the 15th, I’m going to Boston to spend a day with my Leica instructor, Donald Pebbles. I want to adopt him and bring him home, but I think he’s happy in Boston, as I was when I lived there.

( I don’t have to worry about my bulbs getting too cold, they’re all covered up for the frost expected tonight. The Tin Man is in his new home, standing out, as usual)