A late spring

Sundays are my long run days in the cemetery, but today I was distracted by some wonderful things. Taking it as a sign that I should just take in their glory, I picked up my camera after mile 3 instead of taking in the ten I normally run on Sundays.

I was startled in mile two by a pair of mating horny toads. They scattered and I forged on, reveling in the fact that I'd not only seen the Texas state reptile, but a threatened species...mating.

I continued my run, and then happened by something I hadn't seen nor smelled in four years...flowering lilacs. Maybe our nearly daily rain, however light, kicked the flowering mechanism of this most decidedly not a desert plant into full gear. But there they were, full purple blossoms. I stood there for several minutes, just taking in the scent, remembering this was the favorite of my childhood. It reminded me of dabbing lilac toilet water on my wrists, and feeling very feminine as a tiny girl.

And then I wandered to the spot where I'd seen the horny toads and they were still there, back at it. I photographed them for a very long time, knowing I'd seen not one, but two rare sights this morning. One was a sight from my past, the other from my present.