I was grateful this morning for walking through the woods to the canyon rim. All the May flowers are in bloom, like this little astragalus, above, and Indian paintbrush below. If I can look past the veritable carpet of weeds and focus on the native wildflowers, it’s a lovely walk. Accepting things just as they are, it’s a lovely walk.

I’m grateful to still be able to walk after the canvas stool I was sitting on split beneath me and dropped me hard onto the gravel walk. Wren came running to make sure I was ok, and thankfully I was. I paused a few minutes to stretch my legs and return to equilibrium before I stood and finished planting some annuals in that one patio pot, and then I took it as a sign and went inside for lunch.

I’m grateful for asparagus, abundant now in the markets and the ditches. I cooked some fettuccini, and made a quick lemony sauce in the pan with sautéed asparagus, onions and garlic. A toss of paprika, some parmesan, and a dash of black salt rounded out a fulfilling comfort meal.