Here is a sampling the flowers that grow on our property with no intervention on my part save for infrequent removal of less desirable plants growing around them. Except for the myrtle, which was a donation from a neighbor in 2007, I have not directly planted any of them. I'm well aware that there is nothing unusual here, but I was moved to take these pictures one morning in the spring of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when we were all more or less confined to our homes. There was something about the fact that the trees and flowers took no heed to the upheaval of the lives of so many. It gave me a bit of hope that life would have to come back to some semblance of normal at some point. These flowers come back every year at their self-appointed time regardless of how harsh or mild the winter. They remind me that hope never dies.