a bummer, a birthday and some botany

i started a new position at work upon my return from australia, which is good news for a variety of reasons, chief among them that something happens every day that makes me laugh so hard i cry. today it was a text message that my co-worker, smack, got from her brother. it said, "accident at grandma's" and was accompanied by a picture of a riding lawn mower almost entirely submerged in a large body of water, which turned out to be the chesapeake bay.

apparently, smack's mom headed over to grandma's to help with some yard work, but the riding lawn mower had a brake malfunction and driving it through a stone barrier and into the bay was the only way to go.

bummer.

but not so much of a bummer that i did not laugh (until i cried) about it for hours.

yesterday was the mama bear's birthday. i spaced on sending a card or a present, because i am awesome like that, but i did remember to call and she said a blog shout-out would earn me my forgiveness. so, i will say (shout out) this. i love my mom. i want to be just like her in pretty much every way. she is free of judgement and guile and full of patience and love and also makes me laugh until i cry. i feel a oneness with her that is rare and precious. i am glad she was born, and i am glad i was born to her. so, happy birthday mom!

the royal botanic gardens in sydney is (are?) one of the most magical places on earth. it is a place where parrots live in trees and trees live in the middle of the city, and flowers bloom like they are in a fairy tale and cacti grow to be enormous. the botanic gardens is (are?) even home to a woollemoo pine, a species of pine tree that was on the earth with the dinosaurs! (i love dinosaurs!) the woollemoo pine was thought to be extinct until one was discovered in the blue mountains outside sydney in 1994 and transplanted to this safe and happy home.





{the dinosaur pine tree}




and yes, we did hug trees, smell roses and walk on the grass. because if a friendly sign tells me to do it, i will.