SPRINGTIME IN THE SIERRAS

The trees are in full bloom, and my eyes are chronically red and itchy.  But here's a thing:  among all the flowering pear and tulip trees there are bushes and shrubs that have been green all winter and are now turning red and autumn-y.

The frogs in the creek at my complex are noisily back.  I'm sorry Riley missed them when he was here.  Judging by the sounds, there are some big ones in there.  (And no, I'm not bringing one home with me.)

I just recorded the baptism of an 86-year-old woman, twice widowed, mother of 5.  My favorite story from last month was of the husband, married to a lifelong member, who invited his wife out to dinner for Valentine's Day, then drove her to the church, where he had arranged to be baptized...unknown to her.

Next month we'll be getting four sisters designated as WAS, Women's Auxiliary Support, missionaries.  This is new.  They'll be assigned to stakes within the mission, as needed, to do whatever is needed.  I predict that they'll be a little lost at first, having to design their own job descriptions.  But I'm hoping that at least one of them likes office work, since my replacement is home in Arizona having back surgery.

On my latest trip to the airport to deliver a departing sister missionary, I noticed that, in addition to the big red rabbit in Terminal B, there are also birdcages hanging from the ceiling.  They make more sense to me than the rabbit, since I've yet to see a rabbit of any color here, never mind red.